OKX closes shop in Nigeria over regulatory concerns

OKX, a prominent crypto exchange, has decided to cease operations in Nigeria due to regulatory concerns. OKX emailed its Nigerian users to inform them to withdraw their assets from the exchange by August 30. After this date, any remaining balances on the platform will be subject to restrictions.

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Reports say that starting on August 16, OKX’s Nigerian customers can no longer open new positions, accounts, or access services on the platform. Users have the option to withdraw their assets and close or redeem any open positions.

After August 30, 2024, you will have to reach out to our customer service teams for any account-related actions. We strongly encourage you to withdraw or transfer funds prior to this date, as remaining balances may be subject to further restrictions in accordance with our Terms of Service along with local laws.

OKX

The exchange urges users who have been impacted to carefully review their accounts and follow the necessary steps. These include closing several positions, such as peer-to-peer (P2P), margin, perpetual, futures, options, and spot orders. 

OKX Nigerian users have an August 30 deadline

Additionally, users are advised to redeem assets from all OKX products and transfer their assets to external wallets. These steps must be completed before 12:00 a.m. PST on August 16.

Users must transfer their assets before August 16 for a smooth transition. If this deadline is missed, the assets must be transferred by 12:00 a.m. PST on August 30.

OkX’s plan to leave Nigeria is not a surprise. In May 2024, OKX suspended Naira withdrawals due to regulatory concerns. This decision came after the Nigerian government accused Binance of a number of financial misconducts, including manipulating the country’s fiat currency, engaging in money laundering, and taking part in tax evasion schemes.

While the crypto exchange has decided to cease operations in Nigeria, other crypto trading platforms have made adjustments to continue serving the country. One example is KuCoin, which recently made an announcement regarding the deduction of a 7.5% value-added tax from transaction fees for its Nigerian users.

At this point, Nigeria is not the only place where OKX has discontinued its services. In March, the exchange took the same action in India in response to the country’s crackdown on digital asset platforms.