Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the regulatory institution of the Nigerian capital market and supervised by the Federal Ministry of Finance, has issued a circular describing Binance’s operations illegal.
According to the regulatory body, “Binance Nigeria Limited is neither registered nor regulated by the Commission and its operations in Nigeria are therefore illegal.” It also cautions members of the investing public dealing with the entity to do so at his/her own risk.
Founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao, Binance is a global company that operates the largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies. It launched its Nigerian operations in 2020.
“As the regulator with the statutory mandate of investor protection, the Commission urges Nigerians to be wary of investing in crypto-assets, and crypto-asset related financial products and services if the service provider/its platform is not registered or regulated by the Commission. Nigerian investors are hereby warned that investing in crypto-assets is extremely risky and may result in total loss of their investment,” SEC adds.
The circular directed the crypto marketplace to immediately stop soliciting Nigerian investors in any form whatsoever.
In February 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria directed that all deposit money banks (DMBs), non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs), and other financial institutions (OFIs) to close accounts related to cryptocurrency transactions or exchanges.
Some days ago, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this week sued Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao for misleading investors, operating what it calls an ‘extensive web of deception.’
