Economic Security: Binance Confirms Working With FG To Block Dollar-Naira Exchange

Binance says it is collaborating with the Tinubu government to stop trading dollars for naira.

In a Tuesday statement about its “commitment to P2P users in Nigeria,” Binance revealed this and issued a warning, stating that “users behaving in a manipulative way will be removed from the platform.”

The platform for crypto exchanges additionally stated that it is “setting an upper limit for ads, filtering and removing bad ads, requiring and raising deposits for merchants posting ads as well as processes for actioning against any market manipulators.”

Nigerian users of Binance were unable to sell fiat currency, USDT, on the platform as of Tuesday because the sell option had been disabled for them. Additionally, it restricted the buy option for Nigerian users to $1802.

In addition, it prevented its Nigerian users from purchasing cryptocurrencies through P2P, which left individuals who might have wanted to sell their cryptocurrency holdings—such as Bitcoin, BNB, and Ethereum—stuck.

This is just another desperate attempt by the Tinubu-led administration to stop the naira's depreciation against the US dollar. The Economic Financial Crimes Commission raided a well-known Abuja Bureau De Change hub on Monday in an apparent attempt to apprehend currency speculators, but the naira is still falling.

Read: Economic Security: Nigeria's Bank of Agriculture Will Be Recapitalized

Nuhu Ribadu, the national security adviser, gave law enforcement organizations strict instructions earlier on Tuesday to take tough action against anyone trading foreign exchange.

“The Office of the National Security Adviser and the Central Bank of Nigeria are joining forces to address challenges impacting the nation's economic stability in a concerted effort to safeguard Nigeria's foreign exchange market and combat speculative activities,” read a statement from Mr. Ribadu's office.

It also stated, “The CBN's proactive measures to stabilise the foreign exchange market and stimulate economic activities have been commendable. However, the effectiveness of these initiatives is being undermined by the activities of speculators, both domestic and international, operating through various channels, thereby exacerbating the depreciation of the Nigerian naira.”