Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange firm, announced on Monday, November 7, 2022, that it now allows naira deposits and withdrawals.Â
To this end, Nigerian traders can now deposit and withdraw the local currency from their Binance Wallets.Â
A brief statement by the company, seen by Nairametrics, explained that the decision to add a fiat gateway for the naira is in furtherance of its mission to increase the crypto adoption rate in the country.
The newly-introduced fiat gateway will reduce the challenges often encountered by merchants and investors in Nigeria while trading crypto.
- “Binance is pleased to announce that it has added a fiat gateway for Nigerian Naira (NGN) as part of Binance’s mission to increase the adoption and mainstream accessibility of crypto. Users are now able to deposit and withdraw NGN to and from their Binance wallets,” the company said.
Important notice:Â To avoid fraud, Binance has encouraged all current and prospective customers to comply with the Know Your Customer (KYC) requirement so they can start using the fiat gateway.
Long in coming:Â Recall that after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) prohibited commercial banks from facilitating payments for cryptocurrency platforms operating in the country, Binance temporarily stopped accepting deposits and withdrawals in Nigerian Naira in February 2021. This was because its payment partners complied with the directive of the CBN.
But the crypto exchange platform promised to work out modalities that would make it possible for Nigerian customers to continue to use the service. More than a year later, it announced the fiat gateway for the naira.
Prioritising Nigerian traders:Â Note that Nigeria is an important market for Binance. Nairametrics previously reported that Nigeria is Africa’s biggest crypto market, despite the CBN ban. The country also has one of the highest rates of crypto adoption in the world.Â
Editing by Emmanuel Abara Benson
that’s a great idea, thanks Binance
Good news BUT I pass by now because Banks are still blocking accounts dealing with crypto, so no thanks let’s others check first if it really works for a while
Traders accounts were massively closed last year for traces of crypto transactions, even if it was before the official ban date. This article is one sided. What sort of agreement has Binance reached with the Federal government on Nigeria to assure its Nigerian users of no penalization or risk of losing their accounts again?