Nigerian users on Binance are currently unable to access the platform’s peer-to-peer (P2P) feature as the service appears to be offline.
Users cannot find the NGN on the list of available currencies on the Binance P2P platform.
The latest development comes as the Nigerian government struggles to save the free-falling naira (NGN). It remains unclear if the unavailability of the P2P function is part of Binance’s efforts to help salvage the currency or a bug in the system.
Binance P2P Feature Unavailable For Nigerians
About a week ago, Binance capped the selling price of Tether (USDT) tokens on its Nigerian P2P platform to 1,802 NGN per coin and temporarily disabled the sell option for the stablecoin. The move was to ensure compliance with the Nigerian authorities, who have been in a battle against heightened inflation and economic instability in the country.
The Binance NGN/USDT price cap blocked traders’ accounts that tried to sell above the limit. This pushed market participants on the exchange to other platforms that had not enforced similar restrictions.
In a statement addressing the matter, Binance said the price cap resulted from an automatic system pause triggered by significant currency movement, adding that the issue was temporary as adjustments were being made to resume normal services.
However, with the current situation, it appears that the P2P issue is far from over. The Binance customer support team said the P2P unavailability will be fixed soon, and an update on the matter will be provided in time.
Naira in Free-fall
The Nigerian crypto community believes the recent incidents are part of a joint effort to combat the naira’s depreciation, as it is unlikely that the biggest crypto P2P market in the world would suddenly go offline.
Since mid-2023, NGN has fallen significantly against the United States dollar (USD), crashing in double digits from about 700 NGN/$1 to more than 1,800 NGN/$1. Traders have contributed to this free-fall by manipulating the NGN’s price on Binance P2P through fake ads.
The Central Bank of Nigeria and other economic agencies have launched a joint initiative to fight issues like forex speculation, which play a role in the country’s economic instability.
