The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has declared the activities of Binance illegal in Nigeria.
This was stated in a published circular on the commission’s website dated June 9, 2023.
In the circular titled: “Circular on the Activities of Binance Nigeria Limited” SEC said Binance is neither registered nor regulated by it, and its operations in the country are illegal.
“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 commission said in the circular.
“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.”
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SEC said by its publication of the circular, Binance Nigeria Limited is 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.” the statement said.
Binance is currently facing a lawsuit in the United States after the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges against it on Monday.
On Thursday, Binance US said it was suspending US dollar deposits and withdrawals following the enforcement action taken by the US’s Securities and Exchange Commission.
“In an effort to protect our customers and platform, today we are suspending USD deposits and notifying customers that our banking partners are preparing to pause fiat (USD) withdrawal channels as early as June 13, 2023. We encourage customers to take appropriate action with their USD.” Binance tweeted.
The SEC has taken to using extremely aggressive and intimidating tactics in its pursuit of an ideological campaign against the American digital asset industry. https://t.co/AZwoBOgsqS and our business partners have not been spared in the use of these tactics, which has created… pic.twitter.com/rlIe6swIoY
— Binance.US 🇺🇸 (@BinanceUS) June 9, 2023
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