OKX to discontinue services in Nigeria on August 30 after recent changes in Local Law and Regulations
OKX Nigeria has announced plans to discontinue all services in Nigeria on August 30, 2024. The cryptocurrency platform announced the decision via email sent to its customers in Nigeria on Wednesday.
Everything the APC government touches turns to dust. I just received an email from OKX stating that they are leaving Nigeria. How many more companies will we lose due to the poor and bad economic policies of the Tinubu-led administration? To be very honest, those of you who… pic.twitter.com/UfU30NF35j
— FEJIRO OVO𓅓 (@realFejiro) July 17, 2024
It's Verified✅. OKX will stop it's Services to Nigeria 30th Aug 2024. Get ur funds out b4 deadline.
— Hamster combat and other airdrop updates (@InvestorSl69257) July 16, 2024
I'm heartbroken they are my favourite exchange pic.twitter.com/2nAQzjCQyM
According to OKX, from Friday, August 16, 2024, customers will no longer be able to open any new positions or access any services on the platform, with the exception of withdrawals and the closing or redemption of open positions.
The second biggest crypto exchange by trading volume, serving over 50 million people globally, OKX, giving reasons for this shocking decision, stated that “We are discontinuing OKX services in Nigeria after recent changes in local laws and regulations. This is based on the company's ongoing assessment of policies in each market it offers services to.”
“We request that you please review your account and complete applicable steps by 12:00 a.m. (PST) on August 16, 2024,” the statement reads.
The exchange encouraged users to close any P2P, margin, perpetual, futures, options positions and orders, USDT, DAI, and EURT spot orders, redeem all assets from Grow products, including Earn, Loan, and Jumpstart, and transfer all assets out of their OKX account to a wallet of their choice.
OKX also said that after August 16, 2024, they will only be able to withdraw their assets and will not be able to deposit or transact otherwise. According to the company, while users' funds remain secure and accessible in their account, they are highly encouraged to withdraw them to a private wallet or your accounts on other third-party platforms by 12:00 am (PST) on August 30, 2024. If this action is not taken before August 30, 2024, users affected will have to reach out to OKX customer service teams for any account-related actions.
OKX team said it strongly encourages users to withdraw or transfer funds prior to this date, as remaining balances may be subject to further restrictions in accordance with the company Terms of Service and local laws.
In recent years, Nigeria has become one of the crypto-economies with the fastest rate of growth worldwide. According to a prominent cryptocurrency intelligence firm, Chainalysis, Nigeria ranked second globally in September 2023 for the adoption of cryptocurrencies.
In February 2021, the central bank of Nigeria (CBN) banned financial institutions from offering services to cryptocurrency exchanges operating within the country. The ban by Nigeria's central bank on cryptocurrency transactions was reversed on December 22, 2023.
The announcement that OKX is leaving the west African country coincides with Nigerian authorities' crackdown on cryptocurrency exchanges since the beginning of the year due to alleged "regulatory breaches." In February, authorities in Nigeria arrested and detained two Binance senior executives as part of the crackdown. On March 8, 2024, Binance announced that it had stopped all transactions and trading in Nigeria's local currency amid a country-wide crackdown on crypto exchanges that have been blamed by authorities for feeding a black market for foreign exchange.
The Nigerian naira was removed from OKX's peer-to-peer marketplace on Friday, May 3. In an X post from its official help desk account, OKX confirmed that the currency had been removed from the platform, citing "a change in local market requirements."
Nigeria is recognized as one of the largest cryptocurrency markets globally, and there is still uncertainty surrounding the future of cryptocurrencies in the country.
Disclaimer: This information should not be considered financial advice by any means. Please do your own research before making any investment decisions. The views in the articles are personal opinions only. Whale Insider is not responsible for any financial losses incurred.