SEC warns against investing with Binance; says assets at high levels of risk

In a statement released on Friday night, the SEC said this is in furtherance of the Commission's earlier circular, dated 9 June 2023, with respect to the website operated by Binance (used for soliciting the Nigerian public to trade crypto assets.

They added they will provide updates on increasing further regulatory actions with respect to the activities of such operators.

Warning
The SEC warned again that the activities of Binance are not registered nor regulated, saying their activities are illegal, they said:

• "The Commission again reiterates that the activities of Binance, https://www.binance.com and any such other platform through which the Company solicits investors 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, making such solicitation is doing so at his/her own risk.

High-risk
The SEC also noted that anyone investing with the exchange is doing so at his or her own risk, and it may result in loss of investments, adding:

• "As the regulator with the statutory mandate of investor protection, the Commission hereby warns the public that investing in crypto-assets has a high level of risk and may result in total loss of investments.

• "The Commission, therefore, urges the investing public to be wary of investing in crypto-assets and other products offered or operated by entities not registered or regulated by the Commission.

• "By this circular, all platform providers, making such solicitations, are hereby directed to immediately stop soliciting Nigerian investors in any form whatsoever.

The SEC also noted that they will continue to provide updates on further regulatory actions with respect to the activities of such operators and related platforms, and shall work with other regulators in Nigeria to provide further guidance on this matter.

Previous warning
Recall Nairametrics reported last month that the SEC issued a statement emphasizing that Binance Nigeria is not registered or regulated by the SEC, making its operations in Nigeria illegal.

According to a statement published on its website, SEC claimed Binance Nigeria Limited, an alleged subsidiary of the well-known global cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has been actively promoting its web and mobile-enabled platforms to the Nigerian public.

The SEC also made it clear that the company's activities violate Nigerian law urging Nigerians to exercise caution when dealing with unregistered and unregulated platforms such as Binance Nigeria., coming after Binance.US, the U.S. subsidiary of the global exchange, was sued by the U.S. SEC, accused of operating an illegal securities exchange.