The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Nigeria has declared the operations of Binance in Nigeria as illegal, issuing a ban on the crypto exchange.
The commission via a secular disclosed that Binance Nigeria Limited is neither registered nor subject to regulation, declaring its operation in the country as unlawful.
The circular reads,
“The attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) has been drawn to the website operated by Binance Nigeria Limited, soliciting the Nigerian public to trade crypto assets on its various web and mobile-enabled platforms. Binance Nigeria Limited is neither registered nor regulated by the Commission and its operations in Nigeria are therefore illegal. Any member of the investing public dealing with the entity is doing so at his/her own risk.
“As the regulator with the statutory mandate of investor protection, the Commission urges Nigerians to be wary of investing in crypto-assets, and crypto-asset-related financial products and services if the service provider/its platform is not registered or regulated by the Commission. Nigerian investors are hereby warned that investing in crypto assets is extremely risky and may result in a total loss of their investment.
“By this circular, Binance Nigeria Limited is hereby directed to immediately stop soliciting Nigerian investors in any form whatsoever. The Commission shall provide updates on further regulatory actions with respect to the activities of Binance Nigeria Limited, and other similar platforms and shall work with other regulators in Nigeria to provide further guidance, on this matter.”
Investors King understands that the notice from SEC Nigeria follows recent developments where Binance.US, the United States subsidiary of the global exchange, is facing a lawsuit filed by the U.S. SEC.
The exchange platform is accused of operating an illegal securities exchange, adding further scrutiny to the global exchange’s operations.
Meanwhile, Binance hit back at the US SEC, saying that it had been complying with regulators’ questions and was looking to negotiate a settlement with the agency. In the aftermath of the SEC’s complaint against Binance, the price of Bitcoin has dropped below $26,000 for the first time since March.