In what is an apparent surprise, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange platform, Binance, has announced that Nigerians can now deposit and withdraw the Naira to and from their wallets.
What this means is that Nigerian traders can now deposit and withdraw the local currency from their Binance Wallets.
In a statement by the company, it said this is being done as part of efforts to increase the adoption and mainstream accessibility of cryptocurrencies.
The newly-introduced fiat gateway will reduce the challenges often encountered by merchants and investors in Nigeria while trading crypto.
The statement read, “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.
The firm, however, gave a caveat that all users need to complete the Know Your Customer (KYC) requirement to make Naira deposits and withdrawals on Binance.
It is not clear if this move means that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has lifted the restriction placed on cryptocurrency trading in the country.
Long in coming: 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.
If you don’t have an account yet, you can open free account with Binance here.
How can one transfer crypto to local bank accounts without having issues.