According to a blog post dated Wednesday, May 15, 2024, KuCoin has announced its intention to temporarily halt Peer-to-Peer (P2P) and fast buying options for its Nigerian users, which will take full effect from May 15, 2024.
The notice to its Nigerian customers read in part, “Starting from 2024-05-15 08:00 (UTC), we will temporarily suspend all P2P Nigerian Naira (NGN) services and Fast Buy service via Naira cards.”
The exchange, however, assured customers that the discontinuation in operations is transient as it looks forward to resuming the halted services in a fully compliant manner. In addition, KuCoin confirmed that customers' valuables on the exchange are safe, adding that pending orders before the notice remain unaffected.
Implications Of KuCoin's New Directives For Its Nigerian Customers Base
KuCoin's new notice and intention to effect the changes almost immediately implies that Nigerian customers will no longer buy digital assets on the exchange using Naira cards.
Consequently, these users will shift their attention to other third-party platforms, making them vulnerable to scams, as most intermediary outlets other than registered and reputable trading firms are notorious for defrauding unsuspecting customers.
KuCoin Joins Other Platforms In Suspending P2P In Nigeria
Following the new directives, KuCoin became the third exchange after Binance and OKX to suspend P2P trading options for its Nigerian customer base.
Notably, the trading platforms' decision to halt P2P support for its Nigerian user base stemmed mainly from the Nigerian government and other regulatory bodies' intention to delist the Nigerian Naira currency from all P2P trading outlets.
According to Emomotimi Agama, the Director General of the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), removing Naira support on every P2P trading platform is part of concentrated efforts to mitigate Nigerian currency manipulation amid fluctuations, resulting in Naira devaluation over the past few months.
