Binance, the cryptocurrency trading website, poses a grave threat to Nigeria’s economy due to its arbitrary fixation of foreign exchange rates, warned Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information & Strategy.
During a recent appearance on a Channels TV program, Onanuga stressed the urgent need to clamp down on Binance to prevent irreversible damage to the country’s economic stability.
He asserted, “If we don’t clamp down on Binance, Binance will destroy the economy of this country. They just fix the rate.”
Earlier, MUK TV reported that two Binance employees were detained by Nigerian Security Forces in Abuja as part of an investigation into the cryptocurrency exchange’s operations in Nigeria.
This move was aimed at curbing naira speculation and stabilizing its free fall by cracking down on cryptocurrency exchanges.
Onanuga condemned Binance’s alleged actions as sabotage against Nigeria’s economy, justifying the government’s recent ban on the platform.
He expressed concern over the website’s influence in dictating exchange rates, usurping the role of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“Some people sit down using cyberspace to dictate our exchange rate, hijacking the role of the CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria).
“They just sit down and fix anything they like. It’s a sabotage and we are trying to prevent that from happening henceforth.”
Encouraging Nigerians to refrain from patronizing the parallel market for FX rates, Onanuga stressed the importance of relying on the CBN’s official rate.
He emphasized the need for economic normalization once the CBN succeeds in stabilizing the exchange rate, assuring that “things are not going to get worse, they are going to get better in the next few weeks.”
Nigeria has been grappling with a forex crisis, leading to the depreciation of the naira to record lows.
The crackdown on cryptocurrency exchanges and Bureaux de Change reflects the government’s efforts to address illicit financial activities.
It would be recalled that during the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso disclosed that $26 billion had passed through Binance Nigeria in one year from unidentified sources and users, raising concerns about illicit flows and suspicious activities.
“We are concerned that certain practices go on that indicate illicit flows going through a number of these entities [crypto platforms] and suspicious flows at best,” Cardoso told reporters. “In the case of Binance, in the last one year alone, $26bn has passed through Binance Nigeria from sources and users who we cannot adequately identify,” he added.
Cardoso affirmed the government’s determination to safeguard Nigeria’s market integrity and prevent market manipulation, underscoring their commitment to protecting the interests of all Nigerians.
