SEC declares Binance illegal

Temitayo Jaiyeola

The Securities and Exchange Commission has declared the activities of Binance illegal in Nigeria.

The commission on Saturday, in a circular   published  on its website, stated that Binance was neither registered nor regulated by it and its operations were illegal in the country.

It noted that anyone conducting business on the exchange is doing it at their risk. It said, “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.

“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.”

The commission further urged Nigerians to be wary of investing in crypto-assets, and crypto-asset-related financial products and services if the service provider/ platform is not registered or regulated by it.

It added, “Nigerian investors are hereby warned that investing in crypto-assets is extremely risky and may result in total loss of their investment.

“By this circular, Binance Nigeria Limited is hereby directed to immediately stop soliciting Nigerian investors in any form whatsoever.”

SEC also stated that it will provide updates on further regulatory actions with respect to the activities of Binance Nigeria Limited, and other similar platforms and is set to work with other regulators in the country to provide further guidance on this matter.

This move by SEC is set to disrupt the crypto market, especially following recent issues with other popular crypto platforms such as Paxful.

Also, 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 of action taken by the US’s SEC.

Binance said, “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.”