Binance rejects circulating fake news about its platform access restriction to Nigerian user; says it's committed to the adherence to local regulations and laws
The Binance Team has refuted claims by the Nigerian mainstream media that the cryptocurrency-trading platform has restricted users’ access to Nigerians.
This announcement was made by the Binance team following series of fake reports by popular news sites on Tuesday, alleging that Binance had seized Cryptocurrency asssets of Nigerian traders on the platform.
However, in effort to reassure its Nigerian users, Binance announced on its platform that it’s aware that some users might have encountered issues using the web version of its service but the app remains “currently available”.
The team said, “We are aware that some users are experiencing issues accessing binance.com, along with other platforms in the industry. Only users attempting to access the website are impacted, although the App is currently available.
“Importantly, all user funds are secure and accounts can still be accessed.
“We remain committed to the adherence to local regulations and laws. We continue to actively engage with regulators, policymakers and other relevant stakeholders to foster an open transparent dialogue about managing the evolving landscape of cryptocurrency.
“Any changes or updates will be communicated promptly via our official channels.
“If you require any further support, please reach out to us via in-app chat or at https://twitter.com/BinanceHelpDesk.
“Thank you, your understanding and patience are highly appreciated,” the Binance Team said.
Prior to the Binance team’s announcement, the Nigerian government has continuously sought ways to deal with the worsening decline of the NAIRA currency against the USD in the foreign exchange market.
But as all experimented approaches have failed, the president in agreement with the CBN and government agencies moved concertedly to “ban citizens of Nigeria from accessing the Binance platform”: a process they are yet to finalise , according to authorities.
Moreover, while this has remained a national issue, the personal Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Tinubu, Bayo Onanuga, had said that the Naira-Dollar manipulators are “unpatriotic” and the CBN and EFCC should go after all crypto-trading platforms in Nigeria.
Bayo advised the president Tinubu, stressing that “Binance which is blatantly setting exchange rate for Nigeria, hijacking CBN role, is a cryptocurrency trading platform, and suffers access limitations from multiple jurisdictions, such as the US, Singapore, Canada and the UK”.
He revealed that, “According to Data Wallet, Binance is prohibited in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority from conducting any regulated activities. In Japan, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) banned Binance for operating without the necessary regulatory approval.
“Ontario, Canada, has also suspended Binance services following its inability to meet the province’s securities regulation criteria. The Monetary Authority of Singapore also banned Singaporean investors from accessing Binance’s services.
Bayo maintained that the cryptocurrency trading platform, Binance, should not be allowed to determine the value of Naira; and should be banned, including Kucoin and FX platform Aboki.
“Binance, facing regulatory showdown in many countries, and causing disruptions in the currency market, should not be allowed to dictate the value of the Naira, not on its crypto exchange platform. Other crypto platforms such as Kucoin, Bybit should be banned from operating in our cyberspace. FX platform Aboki should be re-banned.
“The EFCC and the CBN should move against these platforms trying to manipulate our national currency to Ground Zero. Crypto should be banned in our country or else this bleeding of our currency will continue unabated,” he added.
