FILE PHOTO: Smartphone with displayed Binance logo and representation of cryptocurrencies are placed on a keyboard in this illustration taken, June 8, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
(Reuters) - Binance will stop all transactions and trading in Nigeria's local currency after March 8 amid a country-wide crackdown on crypto exchanges that have been blamed by authorities for feeding a black market for foreign exchange.
It will stop supporting withdrawals after Friday and any remaining balances in Nigerian Naira will be automatically converted into Tether - a stablecoin whose value is pegged to the U.S. dollar.
Last week, Nigerian authorities detained two Binance senior executives on undisclosed charges as part of the crackdown.
They were still in custody, their local lawyer said before a parliamentary committee on Monday.
(Reporting by Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru and MacDonald Dzirutwe in Lagos; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
