SEC Joins US Govt To Declare Binance Illegal In Nigeria

Binance Holdings Ltd is facing fresh obstacles in the Nigerian market as the Security and Exchange Commission has declared its activities illegal in the country.

Branded Binance, the privately held company is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies, its profile said.

SEC 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. 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.”

Founded in July 2017, Binance operates three subsidiaries which are Sakura Exchange, Trust Wallet, and Binance Charity.

SEC urged 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.

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

“The Commission shall 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.”

In March this year, US regulators sought to ban Binance, alleging that the firm has been operating in the country illegally.

Binance however defended its operations in US.

It said, “This filing is unexpected and disappointing as we have been working collaboratively with the CFTC for more than two years. Nevertheless, we intend to continue to collaborate with regulators in the US and around the world.

“The best path forward is to protect our users and to collaborate with regulators to develop a clear, thoughtful regulatory regime.”