Nigeria Denies Imposing $10 Billion Fine on Binance

A government representative in Nigeria has dismissed rumors of a $10 billion fine being imposed on the major cryptocurrency exchange Binance, calling it mere speculation. Bayo Onanuga, the special advisor on information and strategy to the Nigerian president, clarified that his words were misreported and that there was no decision on any financial penalty for Binance.

False Claims of a $10 Billion Fine Dismissed

According to a report by People’s Gazette, Onanuga stated that he was not informed about any penalties for Binance, nor did he mention that the amount would be $10 billion. He added that while the possibility of a fine was discussed, no final decision had been made.

The clarification comes at a time when regulatory scrutiny of cryptocurrency exchanges is increasing in Nigeria, and it is known that access to several crypto exchanges has recently been banned to protect the value of the national currency, the Nigerian naira.

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The challenges Binance faces in Nigeria became more evident when the cryptocurrency exchange removed the Nigerian naira from its peer-to-peer (P2P) service on February 28th in response to increasing regulatory pressure. The P2P feature, which allows users to trade cryptocurrencies directly without an intermediary, had gained popularity in Nigeria following government pressures on the crypto market in 2021.

At one point, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had expressed concerns about suspicious fund flows through Binance’s Nigerian branch, and CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso reported that in 2023, $26 billion in funds had been transferred through Binance from unidentified sources and users in Nigeria. Furthermore, according to allegations, following its moves to regulate crypto exchanges and curb speculation related to the Nigerian naira, the government had detained two senior Binance officials at the office of the National Security Advisor in Abuja.

Crypto Transaction Ban for Banks Lifted

In December 2023, the CBN lifted a two-year ban on banks conducting crypto transactions and published guidelines to regulate virtual asset service providers.

Moreover, Nigeria became the second country to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in 2022, and the Africa Stablecoin Consortium introduced a stablecoin pegged to the Nigerian naira, cNGN, in a CBN regulatory virtual space in February.