Nigeria has ordered crypto exchange platform Binance to halt its operations in the country. The country’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says the company is operating in the country illegally.
In a statement published on its website, SEC claimed Binance Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of Binance is not registered or regulated by SEC.
‘’Binance Nigeria Limited 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 is doing so at his/her own risk.’’ the statement read.
The regulator went ahead to warn Nigerians to be wary of investing in crypto-assets, and crypto-asset related financial products and services if the service provider/its platform is not registered or regulated by the Commission.
‘’Nigerian investors are hereby warned that investing in crypto-assets is extremely risky and may result in total loss of their investment.’’ the statement further read.
‘’By this circular, Binance Nigeria Limited is hereby directed to immediately stop soliciting Nigerian investors in any form whatsoever.’’
This notice from SEC comes after Binance.US, the U.S. subsidiary of the global exchange, was also sued by the U.S. SEC, accusing it of operating an illegal securities exchange. Binance however dismissed these accusations saying thy aim to unilaterally define crypto market structure.
In a statement, Binance said: “We intend to defend our platform vigorously,” adding that “because Binance is not a US exchange, the SEC’s actions are limited in reach.”
”Still, we stand with digital asset market participants in the U.S. in opposition to the SEC’s latest overreach, and we are prepared to fight it to the full extent of the law.” it added.
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