OKX to Discontinue Services in Nigeria, Here’s What Users Need to Know

Leading cryptocurrency exchange OKX has announced the discontinuation of its services in Nigeria, citing recent regulatory changes.

According to emails sent to Nigerian OKX users, customers have until August 30 to withdraw their assets from the exchange, as remaining balances on the platform will be subject to restrictions thereafter.

OKX ends services in Nigeria

As of August 16, OKX clients in Nigeria will not be able to open new positions, accounts or access services on the platform. They can only withdraw their assets and close or redeem open positions.

The exchange has asked affected users to review their accounts and complete various steps including closing peer-to-peer (P2P), margin, perpetual, futures and options positions, closing spot orders, redeeming assets from all OKX products and move assets in external wallets, before 12:00 PST on August 16th.

Users who do not transfer their assets by August 16th must do so by 12:00 PST on August 30th.

“From August 30, 2024, you will need to contact our customer support teams for any account-related actions. We strongly recommend that you withdraw or transfer funds before this date, as remaining balances may be subject to additional restrictions in accordance with our Terms of Service along with local laws,” the exchange stated.

Nigeria’s crypto regulatory hurdles

OKX’s decision to end its services in Nigeria comes two months after the exchange pulled the Nigerian naira from its P2P platform due to regulatory challenges. Since the beginning of the year, crypto exchanges have faced a tough regulatory environment in Nigeria, with the government trying to prevent further devaluation of the naira.

While OKX chooses to close its business in Nigeria, other crypto trading platforms have implemented certain changes to continue operating in the country. One of them is KuCoin, which announced earlier this month that it would deduct a 7.5% value-added tax from transaction fees for its Nigerian users. Notably, the exchange also stopped its P2P services for the naira in May.

Meanwhile, Nigeria is not the only country where OKX has shut down its services. The exchange made the same move in India in March due to the country’s crackdown on digital asset platforms.

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