The adviser of Nigerian President Calls for Ban on Binance, KuCoin, Coinbase and Several Other Trading Platforms in the Country. Bayo Onanuga, an advisor to Nigerian President Bola Tinbubu, has asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ban crypto exchanges in the country.
Bayo Onanuga: “Binance users lack patriotism”
In the post, Onanuga accused Nigerians trading on the platform is not being patriotic. He stated that cryptocurrency platforms are manipulating the national currency of the state – the Nigerian naira. According to him, crypto exchanges are contributing to the depreciation of the naira in the foreign exchange market.
“The EFCC and the CBN must take action against these platforms trying to manipulate our national currency, driving it down to the zero level. “Cryptocurrencies must be banned in our country, otherwise this bleeding of our currency will continue unabated,” he wrote.
Amid the politician’s statements, Nigerian authorities ordered the country’s telecommunications companies to block access to the Binance, OctaFX and Coinbase websites. Users living in Nigeria started to write about this and to raise concerns about the current situation.
At the same time, some noted that trading platform applications still work without problems and open without a VPN. Notably, in December 2023, the CBN changed its mind regarding digital assets. The regulator lifted the ban on cryptocurrency transactions, which it introduced in 2021.
Binance’s Response
Representatives of the largest crypto exchange sent emails to Nigerian users. They noted that they are aware of the current situation and are actively interacting with Nigerian regulatory authorities.
On the other hand, users expressed their concerns on the social platform X (formerly twitter), its notable also to mention that previously, Binance placed a cap on the selling price of Tether (USDT) on its peer-to-peer (P2P) platform. As a result, traders could not sell USDT at a price higher than 1,802 naira ($1.13) per stablecoin. The trading platform explained that an automatic pause in the system caused the price drop. Representatives denied all accusations of possible market manipulation.
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The Nigeria Binance ban has just been put into effect!Nigeria has cut off access to Binance, Coinbase & other crypto exchanges to help their struggling currency.
Users turn to VPN to circumvent (one of the big issues cited in the Binance indictment). https://t.co/AWgKjhEv1R pic.twitter.com/DL0HS6lwQr
— Rho Rider (@RhoRider) February 21, 2024
Last August, Nigerian authorities accused Binance of illegally conducting business in the country. However, it later became clear that the organization Binance Nigeria Limited, which the regulator targeted, has nothing to do with the crypto exchange.
