The Nigerian government has arrested two senior Binance executives, who traveled to the country amid allegations of manipulating the Nigerian naira. This and more news in this handy daily digest so you're always up to date with the latest developments in the crypto world.
Nigeria launches investigations against Binance
📍Two Binance executives have been arrested by Nigerian authorities amid money laundering investigations. Nigerian officials told the Financial Times that they have launched a series of investigations against Binance, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, which has been accused by the country's regulatory authorities of offering services to citizens without being properly regulated.
According to the report, two senior executives of the exchange have been arrested by Nigeria's Office of the National Security Adviser amid ongoing investigations.
Just like reported Bit2Me News, last week, Nigerian Presidential Advisor on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanouga argued against Binance, calling it an illegally operating platform that has been undermining the stability of the naira, the country’s national fiat currency. Onanouga emphasized that Binance and other cryptocurrency platforms, such as KuCoin and Bybit, have been blatantly fixing the exchange rate for Nigeria, in an attempt to manipulate its national currency.
Meanwhile, the country's central bank governor, Olayemi Cardoso, said that $26.000 billion worth of cryptocurrencies were handled in Nigeria via Binance in the past year. However, the sources and users of these funds have not been properly identified, Cardoso noted. Authorities have therefore launched a series of investigations, which will help determine whether the platform has been involved in illicit activities.
The Financial Times highlighted that the two Binance executives who were arrested traveled to the country in the midst of this situation. However, their passports were seized and are under arrest. The outlet also reported that Binance has halted trading operations with the naira.
JPMorgan talks about the advantages of halving for crypto miners
📍The American investment bank, JPMorgan, highlighted the advantages that the next Bitcoin halving will bring for crypto miners, especially those listed on the stock exchange. According to the bank's analyst Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, Bitcoin mining costs could fall after the fourth halving, as could the price of the cryptocurrency.
The analyst commented that the bank estimates that the price of Bitcoin will correct and settle near $42.000 after the Bitcoin block reward halving event, which could boost investor participation in publicly traded BTC mining companies.
In the report, Panigirtzoglou commented that in 2022, crypto mining companies saw their investors' participation grow, following the correction that the price of Bitcoin suffered in the market.
Bitcoin ETF trading volumes remain high
📍On Thursday, Bitcoin ETFs reached a trading volume of $4.700 billion. Despite experiencing a drop from the $7.700 billion it traded on Wednesday, trading volumes for Bitcoin spot ETFs remain high.
In fact, at $4.700 billion, these investment instruments recorded their second best trading day since their launch in January.
Continue reading: Cardano takes bold step with launch of Plutus V3
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