Plans are underway for Binance and the Nigerian government to establish a digital economic zone that will help entrepreneurs fast-track blockchain technology development in West Africa and Nigeria in particular.
Founded by Changpeng Zhao, Binance is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange platform with a daily trading volume of $76 billion and 90 million customers worldwide as of August 2022.
Binance’s collaboration with Nigeria follows a similar move the company made with South Korea’s city of Busan.
According to a statement by the Managing Director of Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), Professor Adesoji Adesugba, the partnership between Nigeria and Binance aims to build a digital hub “similar to the Dubai virtual free zone”.
Upon completion, the digital economic zone will be the first in the West African Region.
Recently, Nigeria has been leaning towards digital technology as a means to help diversify the economy from crude oil. Many fintech companies such as Flutterwave and Paystack have emerged from the Nigerian digital technology market.
The Nigerian government has also enacted laws to regulate digital assets while Nigeria Exchange Limited plans to start a blockchain-enabled platform next year to deepen trade at the bourse.
Despite Nigeria Central Bank’s hostility to cryptocurrency, Nigerians have shown enormous interest in cryptocurrency than any other African country.
The Central Bank of Nigeria had ordered all commercial banks in the country to stop enabling crypto transactions. The apex bank explained that its decision is due to the threat crypto poses to the broader financial economy of the country.
Regardless, millions of Nigerians continue to trade cryptocurrency through Binance Peer To Peer (P2P) marketplace. Binance Peer To Peer marketplace enables crypto traders to transact among themselves without directly making recourse to the bank.
Before now, Nigerian crypto traders can buy cryptocurrency directly using their bank accounts. However, the restriction by the Central Bank of Nigeria has limited their buying option to Peer To Peer.