Binance faces scrutiny as presidential adviser calls for Nigeria to ban
Updated on February 22 at 9:30 am UTC: Added a screenshot of Binance responding to customers.
The adviser to the President of Nigeria has called for the banning of Binance, KuCoin and other trading platforms in the country.
Bio Onanuga – President Bola Tinubu's adviser on information and strategy – took to the X social media platform to reveal that the platforms are rigging the country's fiat currency, the Nigerian naira, devaluing the currency in the forex market. This comes amid speculation that the incoming government is already considering a ban.
Naira-dollar manipulators
I had the opportunity on Tuesday night by one brother Bernard @Michael C. Bernard to challenge the order of EFCC, NSA on Finance to set limits on traders selling USD tokens in Naira.
He explained that token sellers… pic.twitter.com/c9YBjawJMz
— Bio Onanuga (@aonanuga1956) February 21, 2024
In a post titled “Naira-Dollar Manipulators”, the Presidential Adviser accused Nigerians of being unpatriotic when trading on the Binance platform. Onanuga has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to immediately stop the operations of cryptocurrency exchanges in the country. he said:
“EFCC and CBN must act on these platforms that are trying to distort our national currency to ground zero. Crypto must be banned in our country, otherwise this bleeding of our currency will continue unabated”.
Onanuga noted that Binance is under regulatory control in several countries and should not be empowered to determine the value of the naira on a crypto exchange platform. However, on February 22, Binance distanced itself from the forex crisis in Nigeria, saying the platform was “market-based and not intended to be a proxy for pricing in Nigeria.”
Crypto users in Nigeria have reported difficulty accessing various crypto exchange websites including Binance, OctaFX and others. This development arose in the evening of February 21, with the assumption of a possible government ban on crypto platforms.
Binance responded to the development in an email to its users, explaining that it is aware of the situation and that the issue only affects the online platform and that the Binance app is still working. Users of the exchange confirmed that it is actively engaging with regulators to develop an open and transparent dialogue to manage the evolving cryptocurrency landscape in the country.
Related: Nigeria asked to regulate cryptocurrency to control financial crimes
Traders cannot sell USDT above 1,802 Naira per USDT as Binance has imposed a limit on the selling price of Tether (USDT) tokens on its peer-to-peer (P2P) platform. However, the exchange explained that contrary to the expectations of the local crypto community, the price increase was due to a pause in the automatic system.
Nigeria is currently the largest P2P market in the world, which came after the CBN banned the buying and selling of crypto by institutions in 2021. However, a circular sent to banks in December 2023 lifted the crypto ban on Nigerian banks facilitating cryptocurrency transactions.
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