Leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance blocked hundreds of accounts belonging to Nigerians, leading to an outrage on social media.
Binance has faced backlash from the Nigerian crypto community after the crypto exchange blocked hundreds of accounts belonging to traders in the country.
However, Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, has stated that the move was to curb fraudulent activities on its platform. CZ said;
“Some 281 Nigerian accounts have been affected by these personal account restrictions with approximately 38% of these cases restricted at the request of international law enforcement.”
Nigeria remains one of the leading countries in the world in terms of cryptocurrency adoption. Since the Central Bank of Nigeria banned financial institutions from dealing in cryptocurrencies, Nigerians have turned to peer-to-peer platforms, including Binance, LocalBitcoins and Paxful.
Despite the challenges, Nigeria has one of the highest cryptocurrency adoption rates in the world. CZ stated that the Nigerian cryptocurrency community is one that brings great pride. He pointed out that Nigeria has been one of its leading markets since Binance was launched five years ago.
Hundreds of Nigerians complained on Twitter last week that they had been deprived of access to their wallets. The victims added that Binance didn’t provide significant reasons why their accounts were blocked. CZ said;
“On hearing the concerns raised by the community, I decided to write to re-emphasize our commitment to you.”
The Binance CEO added that user security remains very important for Binance. The cryptocurrency market has been underperforming over the past few months, but the crypto adoption rate continues to grow.
The total market cap is around $1.6 trillion, down by nearly 50% from the all-time high of $3 trillion achieved in November.
Despite that, market experts are optimistic that the bulls will regain control again and the market will resume its upward movement in the coming months.
