Regulation
Local players expect Nigeria to ban peer-to-peer crypto trading soon – BitKE
A new crypto regulation that would ban peer-to-peer trading of cryptocurrencies is in the works in Nigeria, according to local publications.
According to sources within the Nigerian tech ecosystem, the ban will soon be made public after the country’s National Security Advisor (NSA) classified crypto trading as a national security concern.
Already, three Nigerian fintech startups:
will block the accounts of customers trading in cryptocurrency and report these transactions to law enforcement. According to Tosin Eniolorunda, CEO of Moniepoint, the NSA asked them to stop integrating accounts participating in cryptocurrency trading.
“Customers can easily open level 3 accounts on fintech platforms in seconds,” Eniolorunda said at a conference in Lagos.
“The NSA found a lot of accounts [that were involved in crypto trading] and blocked the accounts. They feared fintechs would be fast [in opening accounts] and told us to stop the integration.
Exchanges operating in the country have come under scrutiny as authorities believe crypto platforms facilitate speculation and potential manipulation of exchange rates. At the end of February 2024, the government ordered several services, including Coinbase, Quidax and Binance, to stop operations.
REGULATION | Crypto Exchanges to Halt StableCoin Sales in Nigeria Amid Apparent Crackdown
“There was a meeting of crypto founders on Tuesday [February 27 2024] morning, and a number of them agreed to suspend transactions on their platform,” a person at that meeting told a local… pic.twitter.com/iiYBuYrpOu
–BitKE (@BitcoinKE) February 29, 2024
Binance has been in the eye of the storm, accused of money laundering and tax evasion. Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CNB), claimed that “$26 billion passed through Binance Nigeria from sources and users we cannot identify.”
Binance and its executives, including Tigran Gambaryan, a US citizen serving as financial crime compliance officer, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, Anglo-Kenyan regional director for Africa at Binance, are faces four counts of tax evasion in the country.
🇳🇬REGULATION | Binance executive to be remanded in custody after pleading not guilty to money laundering charges
Gambaryan is expected to be detained at the Kuje Correctional Center until his bail application is decided on April 18, 2024. The judge adjourned the case until May 2, 2024 for… pic.twitter.com/6bxUcQGv4A
–BitKE (@BitcoinKE) April 9, 2024
If a ban materializes, it would be the second time the West African country has banned crypto operations. In February 2021, as cryptocurrencies became popular, the Central Bank of Nigeria ordered local banks to close accounts transacting or operating cryptocurrency exchanges.
Although the 2021 ban was lifted in December 2023, it did not take long for the crackdown to resume, once again operators were wary of the Nigerian market.
🇳🇬REGULATION | The Central Bank of #Nigeria Lifts 2021 banking restrictions on cryptocurrency exchanges and VASPs
See also
In a circular sent to banks and financial institutions in Nigeria, the Central Bank (CBN) indicated that the new regulations replace previous instructions on… pic.twitter.com/FDkUDbDTuh
–BitKE (@BitcoinKE) December 23, 2023
