In a bold move that has sent shockwaves through the crypto world, Nigeria has escalated its crackdown on digital currency exchanges, singling out Binance, the globe-trotting crypto behemoth, in an audacious bid to curb naira speculation. The African giant's latest actions include detaining two of Binance's top brass and confiscating their passports, a dramatic escalation in the state's war on crypto, the Financial Times reports.
Embattled Binance, the world's crypto exchange, acknowledged that its Nigerian users are currently unable to access its website due to a blockade. Late on Wednesday, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the telecom regulator, ordered telecom companies to restrict consumer access to the websites of companies like Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken. FinTelegram reported about this critical Nigerian situation.
Users of Binance in Nigeria have raised concerns that the crypto exchange might be manipulating the exchange rate between the Nigerian Naira and the US dollar, allegedly under government directives. On February 21, Bayo Onanuga, an adviser to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, launched a direct critique on the social media platform X, suggesting that Binance was "overtly determining exchange rates for Nigeria, usurping the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)'s role."