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

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

According to emails sent to Nigerian OKX users, clients have until August 30 to withdraw their assets from the exchange, after which any remaining balances on the platform will be subject to restrictions.

Oxx ends services in Nigeria

As of August 16, OKX clients in Nigeria will not be able to open new positions or 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 several steps, including closing P2P positions, margin, perpetual contracts, futures, and options, closing spot buy orders, redeeming assets from all OKX products, and transferring assets to external wallets, before 12:00 AM PT on August 16.

Users who failed to transfer their assets by August 16 must do so by 12:00 AM PT on August 30.

“After August 30, 2024, you will need to contact our customer service teams for any account related actions. We strongly encourage you to withdraw or transfer funds before this date, as remaining balances may be subject to further restrictions in accordance with our Terms of Service along with local laws,” the exchange said.

Regulatory hurdles for cryptocurrencies in Nigeria

OKX’s decision to end its services in Nigeria comes two months after the exchange Removal Nigerian naira trading suspended on P2P platform due to regulatory challenges. Since the beginning of the year, cryptocurrency exchanges have faced a tough regulatory environment in Nigeria, as the government tries to prevent further devaluation of the naira.

Although OKX has opted to close its operations in Nigeria, other cryptocurrency exchanges have made some changes to remain operational in the country. One such change is KuCoin, which announced earlier this month that it will deduct a 7.5% VAT on transaction fees for its Nigerian users. Notably, the exchange also shut down its P2P services for the Nigerian currency in May.

Meanwhile, Nigeria is not the only country where OKEx has suspended its services. The exchange took the same step in India in March due to the country’s crackdown on digital asset platforms.