Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency trading platform, has announced a partnership with the Nigerian government led by President Bola Tinubu to restrict Nigerian users from participating in dollar-naira trades on its platform. This measure aims to prevent manipulative behaviors and is part of a larger effort to stabilize the declining value of the naira against the dollar.
To enforce compliance, Binance has set limits for advertisements, filtered and removed bad ads, raised deposit requirements for merchants posting ads, and established procedures to counteract market manipulation. Specifically, Binance has disabled the sell function for Nigerian users, limited the buy option to $1,802, and suspended purchases of cryptocurrencies via Peer-to-Peer (P2P). These moves follow previous attempts by the Nigerian government to curtail cryptocurrency usage due to concerns regarding financial stability and illicit activity.
These developments mirror efforts by the previous administration when then-President Muhammadu Buhari banned cryptocurrency trading in 2021. Despite lifting the ban in late 2023, the current government’s actions suggest continued scrutiny of the sector.
Some Nigerian Binance users have voiced criticism and threats to migrate to other platforms for dollar-naira trading.
