Over $26 billion passed through Binance Nigeria from unknown sources- Cardoso

Binance Nigeria has facilitated transactions exceeding $26 billion from unidentified sources in one year. The digital assets platform, serves as a window for peer to peer transactions allowing users to advertise interest to sell or buy crypotocurrency of their choice.

This was revealed by Yemi Cardoso, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) after the MPC meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.

'In the case of Binance, in the last one year, 26 billion dollars has passed through Binance Nigeria from sources and users who we cannot adequately identify," he told reporters.

Last week, the government moved against Binance, OctaFX, Coinbase and other crypto firms following reports that currency speculators and money launderers were using them to execute criminal activities.

The restriction of these platforms is also aimed at slowing currency speculation activities in the country.

In response to the government's action, Binance stated that its platform is not for currency pricing, and users engaging in manipulative behavior will be removed from its platform.

What Binance said:

"As industry leaders, we are working hand in hand with local authorities, lawmakers, and regulators to ensure we act on non-compliance," the platform added, noting that it is "setting an upper limit for ads, filtering and removing bad ads, requiring and raising deposits for merchants posting ads as well as processes for actioning against any market manipulators."

"It is important to note that foreign exchange rates are influenced by various complex factors, which Binance has no influence on,"

"However, we continue to actively engage with regulators, policymakers and other relevant stakeholders to foster an open, transparent dialogue about managing the evolving landscape of cryptocurrency and financial markets," it said.

In February 2021, the CBN banned crypto in the country, explicitly instructing financial institutions to refrain from operating accounts for cryptocurrency service providers in view of the money laundering and terrorism financing risk and vulnerabilities inherent in their operations.

Despite the ban, Nigeria has maintained the lead position globally in terms of cryptocurrency usage and ownership, and awareness.

In December 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria changed its stance on crypto assets and asked banks to disregard its February 2021 ban on crypto transactions.