Nigeria’s Binance raid threatens the Web3 industry.
Nigeria is feeling the consequences of the actions taken against the executives of Binance, investors from agreements and partnerships, especially in the Web3 sector. Lucky Uwakwe, chairman of the Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee of Nigeria (BCoN), cited the Binance case as evidence of Nigeria's hostility to business and government insecurity.
In an interview with Cointelegraph, Uwakwe, the leader of a Nigerian intercommunity working group that includes stakeholders from Blockchain Nigeria User Group (BNUG), Cryptography Development Initiative of Nigeria (CDN) and Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SiBAN), expressed investors' concerns.
According to Uwakwe, investors are concerned about possible outcomes similar to the fate of Binance when investing in local Web3 companies. He pointed out that the parties who have already invested are gradually withdrawing.
Binance executives Tigran Gambarian and Nadeem Anjarwala came to Nigeria in February following the exchange's announcement of the country's fiat currency, the niran. The executives were arrested on five counts of money laundering after meeting with the Nigerian government over Binance's regulatory problems.
According to Uwakwe, the government's handling of the Binance issue is negatively impacting the entire nation. By pursuing penalties against Binance, the government is essentially undermining the entire industry, sacrificing potential growth for short-term measures.
When asked about the possibility of exoneration for the Binance executives in the current trial, Uwakwe expressed doubt. According to the government's view, if certain conditions are not met in the company, the chances of the executives being freed are slim. he said,
“The odds are probably 90-10, 90 for the government, 10 for the Binance executives in question…”
Uwakwe stressed that even if the judge acquits the Binance executive, the Nigerian government is likely to ignore the court's decision. This practice has been observed in the past especially in cases that threaten the stability of the country.
Related: Binance executive tracked to Kenya, extradition underway
Uwakwe addressed possible questions from the international community as to why the Nigerian crypto community is not adamantly supporting the release of Binance executives. He noted that Binance would have received support from pressure groups and lobbying efforts if it had deployed the relevant associations earlier.
The Nigerian government has often clashed with cryptocurrency exchanges. Binance stopped using naira on March 8 after the Nigerian government's criticism of crypto exchanges was highlighted in February.
In the year In August 2022, Nigeria was named the most depressed country in the world by the number of searches for “cryptocurrency” or “crypto buy” by Google.
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