Binance Officially Announces Blockade of Website in Nigeria

A popular cryptocurrency trading platform, Binance has confirmed that its official website can no longer be accessed by Nigerian users.

This was stated in a statement released by the firm on Thursday, assuring its Nigerian users that the situation should not make them panic as their funds were still very protected.

The company said this blockage was in line with the regulations and rules spelt out by the relevant Nigerian institutions.

“We are aware that some users are experiencing issues accessing binance.com, along with other platforms in the industry,” the statement reads in part.

It added that the blockage affected only its users accessing the platform via its website, noting that its app was still functioning for users to access the platform.

It continued: “Only users attempting to access the website are impacted, although the App is currently available. Importantly, all user funds are secure and accounts can still be accessed.”

Binance added that it would “continue to actively engage with regulators, policymakers and other relevant stakeholders to foster an open transparent dialogue about managing the evolving landscape of cryptocurrency”.

However, findings revealed that Nigerians could not access the Binance website and some users also found it difficult to access the firm’s application via their mobile devices as at the time of filing this report.

There have been a series of reports on how President Bola Tinubu’s government has taken steps to clamp down on cryptocurrency platforms operating in the country to stabilise the country’s foreign exchange.

This step comes less than 60 days after the government lifted the ban on cryptocurrency and the recent clampdown on unlicensed Bureau De Change operators by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to save naira’s freefall against the dollar.

Nigeria's naira on Wednesday crashed to a record low against the dollar on the official market.

BrandIconImage learnt that the naira exchanged for N1980 to $1 on the parallel market and N1780 on the official market as the swift decline continued amid the government’s clampdown on currency speculators.

February 22, 2024