The Nigerian government is reportedly urging Binance to provide information about its top 100 users in the country as part of an ongoing crackdown on the exchange. Along with this request, Nigerian authorities have also asked Binance to disclose the transaction history of these users for the past six months, as reported by the Financial Times on March 13. Additionally, the office of Nigeria’s national security adviser has requested that Binance address any outstanding tax liabilities. These requests come as part of negotiations between Binance and Nigeria, with the Nigerian government arguing that Binance has had a significant impact on the country’s local currency, the Nigerian naira.
Bayo Onanuga, the presidential adviser on information and strategy, has claimed that Binance and other cryptocurrency platforms have manipulated the naira, leading to a significant decline in its value. Onanuga has even suggested the possibility of banning platforms like Binance in Nigeria. In response to Binance’s attempts to engage in a dialogue with Nigerian authorities, two senior Binance executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, were detained by local prosecutors. Despite Binance delisting all naira transactions and discontinuing peer-to-peer naira transactions in late February, Gambaryan and Anjarwalla remain in detention.
Onanuga has stated that the detained executives are cooperating with Nigerian authorities and providing valuable information. He has also hinted that Nigeria may impose a $10 billion fine as retribution for the negative impact on the Nigerian economy caused by Binance’s actions. The office of the national security adviser has urged the public to allow law enforcement agencies the necessary time and space to carry out their work, with outcomes expected to be made public in due course.
Binance has chosen not to comment on the specific allegations made by Nigerian authorities. However, a spokesperson for the exchange has clarified that Binance has not completely exited the Nigerian market but has rather removed all naira trading pairs and transactions.
Concerns have been raised by some online users about Binance’s ability to continue serving users in Nigeria under these circumstances. One commenter on X platform suggested that if a company ceases services related to the Nigerian naira, it indicates a complete disengagement from Nigeria and anything related to the country.
Nigeria has emerged as one of the fastest-growing crypto economies globally in recent years and is predicted to be the second-largest crypto-adopting economy by 2023. In August 2022, Nigeria was recognized as the most crypto-obsessed country based on the number of Google searches for “cryptocurrency” or “buy crypto.” However, according to the Financial Times, Nigeria abandoned its longstanding currency peg and allowed the naira to freely trade in June 2023, resulting in record-high inflation. As of January 2024, Nigeria’s consumer inflation has risen for the 13th consecutive month, reaching nearly 30%, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.