The Naira experienced a notable depreciation against the US dollar on February 21, 2024, peaking at an intra-day high of N1,755.
This increase coincided with heightened demand pressure, exacerbating the depreciation trend of Nigeria’s currency.
Concurrently, the official exchange rate settled at N1,542.58 to $1 on the same day, underscoring the currency’s volatility.
According to data from the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), where foreign exchange is officially traded, the domestic currency demonstrated a modest appreciation of 0.56%, concluding the day at N1,542.58 to a dollar.
In the cryptocurrency market where forex is sold using stablecoins, the Naira also settled at N1,876.50/$1.
Naijaonpoint reported that Crypto trading platform, Binance has taken some actions to adjust trading on its platform by Nigerians to address what it described as an unusual currency movement.
While many Nigerians have been complaining of facing restrictions with buying and selling USDT on the platform since Tuesday, Binance said its action was “to protect users and prevent any abuse.”
The company also distances itself from the forex debacle in Nigeria saying its platform is “market-driven and not intended to be a proxy for currency pricing in Nigeria.”
This development comes amidst unconfirmed reports that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in conjunction with other government agencies had allegedly ordered Binance to set a cap on Nigerian traders selling USDT.