Binance to discontinue Nigerian currency services as legal squabble deepens

Binance on Tuesday announced that it will discontinue all Nigerian naira services, amid an ongoing legal dispute between the U.S. cryptocurrency firm remains and Africa's most populous country.

In an update posted on its website, Binance said that, starting this Friday, any remaining naira balances in user accounts will be automatically converted to Tether, a cryptocurrency stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar.

The company will not support any deposits of Naira after 2 p.m. UTC on Tuesday and will no longer support withdrawals of the currency after 6 a.m. UTC on Friday, the announcement said.

Nigeria is also one of the world's biggest crypto markets, but the Nigerian government has demanded almost $10 billion in compensation from Binance, which it accuses of manipulating foreign exchange rates via currency speculation and rate fixing, and arrested two of the firm's senior executives last week, according to multiple media reports.

The Nigerian naira has lost almost 70% of its value over the past few months, as Africa's largest economy faces a currency crisis and soaring inflation.