Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga is advocating for the ban of cryptocurrency trading platforms in Nigeria amidst the forex crisis.
Mr. Onanuga accused these platforms of manipulating the Naira, which according to him has caused the local currency to significantly lose value.
In a post made on X (formerly Twitter), which he titled “The Naira-Dollar Manipulators”, he urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to move against these platforms trying to manipulate the national currency to Ground Zero.
Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 14 (June 3 – Sept 2, 2024) begins registrations; get massive discounts with early registration here.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations here.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and invest in Africa’s finest startups here.
He wrote,
“Binance which is blatantly setting exchange rate for Nigeria, hijacking CBN role, is a cryptocurrency trading platform, and suffers access limitations from multiple jurisdictions, such as the US, Singapore, Canada and the The UK. According to Data Wallet, Binance is prohibited in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority from conducting any regulated activities. In Japan, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) banned Binance from operating without the necessary regulatory approval.
“Ontario, Canada, has also suspended Binance services following its inability to meet the province’s securities regulation criteria. The Monetary Authority of Singapore also banned Singaporean investors from accessing Binance’s services. Binance, facing regulatory showdown in many countries, and causing disruptions in the currency market, should not be allowed to dictate the value of the Naira, not on its crypto exchange platform.
“Other crypto platforms such as Kucoin, and Bybit should be banned from operating in our cyberspace. FX platform Aboki should be re-banned. The EFCC and the CBN should move against these platforms trying to manipulate our national currency to Ground Zero. Crypto should be banned in our country or else this bleeding of our currency will continue unabated”.
The accusation of Binance for setting the exchange rates for Nigeria and hijacking the CBN role is followed by a blogpost from the crypto exchange, distancing itself from the Forex crisis in Nigeria.
Binance wrote,
“Don’t believe the FUD. We would like to assure users that their funds are secure and our peer-to-peer (P2P) product remains operational. Binance provides a P2P marketplace, not as a price discovery platform. To be clear: it is market-driven and is not intended to be a proxy for currency pricing in Nigeria. It is important to note that foreign exchange rates are influenced by various complex factors, which Binance has no influence on.
“However, we continue to actively engage with regulators, policymakers, and other relevant stakeholders to foster an open transparent dialogue about managing the evolving landscape of cryptocurrency and financial markets. We remain dedicated to providing market-driven, fraud-free, and manipulation-free products for users. We take our responsibility to protect users and their confidential data very seriously.”
Mr. Onanuga’s call for the ban of crypto platforms in Nigeria comes amidst reports that a fresh crypto crackdown is brewing in Nigeria.
Although, regulators such as the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Central Bank (CBN) are yet to release public notices on the matter. Meanwhile, it is alleged that the NCC has directed telecom operators to interfere with the operations of players like Binance, OctaFX, Coinbase, Kraken and FXTM.
Sources disclose that the recent movement against the crypto industry is inspired by the belief that digital currency exchanges have been weaponized by currency speculators and money laundering groups for dubious activities that continue to undermine the strength of the naira against the dollar.