The Nigerian government has proposed banning Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency platforms, from its territory.
Bayo Onanouga, information and strategy adviser to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, argued that Binance is a platform that has been hijacking the role of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the country's highest monetary authority.
As Onanouga expressed on X (formerly Twitter), Binance “is blatantly fixing the exchange rate for Nigeria”, even though it is clearly not empowered to do so.
Onanouga, who also highlighted the regulatory scrutiny the platform has been facing in other countries around the world, including the United States, Canada, Japan and Singapore, called on the Central Bank of Nigeria to act against Binance and other cryptocurrency platforms, such as KuCoin and Bybit, that attempt to manipulate its national currency.
Overall, Onanouga blamed cryptocurrencies for the depreciation of the Nigerian naira, which is why he believes the country should ban the use of these digital assets and the platforms that operate with them.
Binance operates without the necessary regulatory approval
To date, the regulatory authorities of The United States, Singapore, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom have lashed out at Binance, for operating in their jurisdictions without the necessary regulatory approval, Onanouga said.
President Tinubu's adviser stressed that the platform is prohibited from carrying out any regulated activity in the United Kingdom.
He also noted that Japan’s Financial Services Agency has banned Binance from operating in its jurisdiction, as have the Monetary Authority of Singapore and regulators in Ontario, Canada, who have noted its “failure to meet the province’s securities regulatory criteria.”
In addition to these, other countries such as Thailand, the Cayman Islands, Malta, the Philippines and India have also imposed various restrictions on Binance due to lack of regulatory compliance. In fact, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Philippines orders ban on cryptocurrency platform from march this year.
According to the Philippine SEC, large corporations such as Google, Meta, and Apple must also block ads promoting Binance services in the country. In India, these same corporations have blocked access to Binance and OKX apps from app stores.
Due to all of the above, Onanuga warned the public not to invest or engage in trading operations within Binance. He also noted that other cryptocurrency platforms, specifically, Kucoin and Bybit, should be banned from operating within its cyberspace. All of this, in an attempt to curb the accelerated devaluation of its weakened national currency.
The collapse of the Nigerian naira
Nigeria's national currency, the naira, has been plagued by high inflation that has seen its value depreciate by more than 40% over the past year, according to data from Forbes.
In his post, Onanuga noted that despite the official change According to the CBN, cryptocurrency platforms are offering exchange rates of up to 1950 naira for every US dollar. In the case of Binance, the advisor stressed that the platform has not made any effort to adapt to local regulations and that it set the exchange rate at 1892 naira per dollar, citing posts from a user named Mikael Bernard.
According to Onanuga, Binance continues to fail to comply with regulations and its operations affect the stability of its local currency, which is why its recent statements seek to minimize the further damage that its national currency may suffer with the use of this platform.
On the other hand, this This is not the first time Nigerian regulators have called for a ban on Binance in the country. In June last year, Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Binance was a illegal platform in its jurisdiction, that it was not registered or regulated, and that its operations were not authorized, according to quoted Reuters.
In addition to this, Regulators have asked telecommunications companies and internet service providers in Nigeria to block users from accessing the Binance, Coinbase and Kraken platforms.. By reported Bloomberg said this was a measure to curb the depreciation of the naira.
Bit2Me, aligned with regulations and compliance
Regulatory compliance is becoming increasingly critical in the cryptocurrency industry.
Global regulators are striving to establish a legal framework adapted to the innovation of new technologies and digital assets, so it is essential that platforms operating within this industry align themselves with established regulations.
In the case of Bit2Me, the cryptocurrency platform has always prioritized regulatory compliance, with the aim of ensuring the protection of users and their funds.
The report "The New Crypto Exchange Standards”, published by Cointelegraph Research in 2023, highlighted Bit2Me as One of the most trusted cryptocurrency platforms across the cryptocurrency industry. Bit2Me scored highly in terms of its level of security, safety, and compliance compared to similar platforms such as Binance, Coinbase, and others.
Continue reading: Philippines reminds Binance that it has 3 months to close
