Binance Respects International Law Despite Impact on Nigerian Lifestyle

Written by Associate Editor: Tia Thevenin

Many Binance users in Nigeria and other African Countries were facing issues participating in their routine trading of cryptocurrency. Users (around 281 total) were unable to initiate in or complete payments. Since its inception in 2017, Binance Holdings Ltd. has grown to be the top crypto exchange in the world processing nearly 76 billion dollars worth of cryptocurrency daily. Changpeng Zhao, Chief Executive Officer of Binance is on the ranks of the world’s top billionaires. Binance is also widely used in Nigeria.

Nigerians use cryptocurrency as a method to protect the value of their money, which fluctuates as the naira loses value, and as a method to protect their finances, and to send payments abroad as the U.S dollar is hard to get locally. About 38% of the accounts were restricted at the request of international law enforcement. The prevention tactics of international law enforcement have been said to be due to the rising concerns regarding money laundering. Money laundering is found in several United Nations crime suppression treaties as well as Global programming. The purpose of the programming is to limit global threats.

The quick resolution of Binance to shut down Nigerian accounts at the request of law enforcement could likely be related to the exchange’s previous issues with failing to meet their anti-money laundering obligations which resulted in them having to move their operational base. Reuters previously ran a study on Binance and founds that they were doing their internal risk reports a disservice by recruiting customers from places with high money laundering issues.

But Binance ensured that their priorities lie with user protection and that they are creating a team that is equipped to work with regulators and law enforcement agencies.

Binance is under scrutiny for its regulatory status in countries such as Pakistan, Canada, the U.K., India, Italy, and more. But as for Nigeria, Zhao ensured that to build back Nigeria’s trust they would take steps to increase their staffing by adding customer service agents with a deep understanding of Nigerian customs and markets. Zhao has issued an apologetic statement on Binance’s commitment to User Protection, citing protection measures such as anti-money laundering, collaborating with law enforcement, and account restrictions as being methods to protect the community. With continued patience and the emergence of new cryptocurrency regulations, Binance and users could be looking towards a future that does not involve a case like this again.