OKX crypto exchange will stop its services in Nigeria. From August 16, 2024, Nigerian users won’t be able to open any new trades or use any other platform services. So, what will happen to the funds of OKX users in Nigeria, and when will full services be shut down? Let’s explore.
End of an Era: OKX Halts Trading for Nigerian Users
On July 17, around 02:30 PM Nigeria time (PST), OKX sent an email to its Nigerian users sharing the information about terminating services. In the email, OKX provided a complete timeline for discontinuing and completely shutting down services.
From August 16, OKX Nigerian customers won’t be able to open any new trades. Additionally, they won’t be able to use any OKX services. They will only be able to withdraw their funds or close their open positions.
OKX’s Deadline for Nigerian Customers
The email requests customers to check their accounts and close any running activities before 12 AM (PST) on August 16. These activities include any P2P, margin, perpetual, futures, and option positions and orders. Additionally, any pending spot orders should also be closed. Redeem all assets from OKX’s grow products like Earn, Loan, and Jumpstart. And transfer all your assets from your OKX account to another wallet.
According to their email, after August 16, no trades or any other services will be available, but August 30 is the final time to withdraw your funds. After this timeframe, if any customer has funds left in OKX, they will need to reach out to OKX customer support to retrieve them.
Many Nigerian OKX users shared screenshots of this email on Twitter. Some customers are unhappy with OKX stopping services, while others mentioned that it doesn’t affect them much since Bitget is providing good decentralized services in Nigeria.
Nigeria’s Government vs. Digital Currency
OKX is not the first crypto exchange to stop its services in Nigeria. Earlier in February, Binance faced money laundering and tax evasion charges in Nigeria, leading to a ban in April. Other major crypto exchanges like Coinbase are also banned in Nigeria. According to the government, banning crypto is necessary to protect their local currency, Naira.
Just hours before this news broke, a Twitter user, DamX, tweeted that the Nigerian government had stopped OKX from accepting new sign-ups. Initially, the P2P market was restricted, and now new sign-ups are also halted. According to him, the Nigerian government is unaware that the fight they are trying to fight is one they can never win.
Judging by the comments from the Nigerian crypto community, it seems that even though the government is imposing various restrictions on crypto, citizens are very much aware of the power of crypto. Nigeria is not the only country to take such steps against crypto; many other countries have also banned crypto, citing it as harmful to the local economy. Meanwhile, in the US, crypto is gaining more prominence, especially with the upcoming elections.
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