The federal government on Wednesday has reportedly detained two top executives of the population cryptocurrency trading platform, Bitcoin, over foreign exchange trading manipulations and speculative activities.
According to Financial Times, the Executives visited Nigeria as a reaction to the country’s recent clamps down of various cryptocurrency trading websites. During their stay, they were apprehended by the national security adviser’s office, and their passports were taken away.
Recently, after the naira’s significant devaluation led to inflation soaring to an almost 30-year high of 29.9%, the Nigerian government has turned its attention to the regulation of cryptocurrency websites.
In response to the detention of their executives, Binance discontinued the trading of the naira against bitcoin and tether cryptocurrencies on its exchange.
$26 billion passed through Binance Nigeria from questionable sources
During the MPC meeting on Tuesday, the Central Bank chief, Yemi Cardoso, revealed that about $26 billion passed through the trading platform from unknown sources in one year.
According to Cardoso, Nigeria’s anti-corruption body, police force, and national security adviser have collaborated to launch an investigation into cryptocurrency exchanges.
Cardoso said,
- “We are concerned that certain practices go on that indicate illicit flows going through a number of these entities [crypto platforms] and suspicious flows at best.
- “In the case of Binance, in the last one year alone, $26bn has passed through Binance Nigeria from sources and users who we cannot adequately identify.”
In addition, the telecommunications regulator directed telecom companies to restrict access to major cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken.
What you should know
- The administration of President Bola Tinubu is making efforts to draw in foreign investment to enhance the struggling economy of the country through various market-oriented reforms.
- One of these reforms include closing the multiple foreign exchange windows that was practiced under the previous administration and unifying the currency through a market-determined exchange rate.
- Meanwhile, the Naira continues to find it difficult to hold its own against the Dollar as the currency continues to devalue both in the official market and the parallel market.
- According to Nairametrics daily FX watch, the Naira has lost over 100% of its value since the inception of the policy in early July 2023.
