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The Nigerian government has been unfriendly towards cryptocurrency trading in the past.
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It had always warned that crypto assets are risky investments.
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The government took its most significant step against crypto trading today by banning the largest exchange in the world from operating in Nigeria.
Eko Hot Blog reports that Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has banned Binance, the largest cryptocurrency in the world by volume, from operating in Nigeria.
In a statement issued and signed by the SEC management on Saturday, the commission directed Binance to “immediately stop soliciting Nigerian investors in any form whatsoever.”
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The commission noted that the crypto exchange’s operations in Nigeria are illegal because the firm is neither registered nor regulated by the SEC.
The SEC also warned Nigerian investors that investing in crypto assets is extremely risky and may result in total loss of their investment.
“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,” the statement reads.
“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 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.”
It is unclear how the ban will affect many Nigerians who trade cryptocurrency on Binance.
The ban comes days after the United States (US) SEC sued Binance for allegedly operating a “web of deception.
FURTHER READING
The US regulator alleged that the crypto exchange artificially inflated its trading volumes, diverted customer funds, failed to restrict U.S. customers from its platform and misled investors about its market surveillance controls.
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