Binance’s woes in Nigeria continue to mount

Binance told a local media outlet that it hadn’t heard about a $10 billion fine

article-image

Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu | Chatham House/"Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu" (CC license)

share

Binance’s woes in Nigeria continue to mount. 

There was confusion on Friday as a government official, in an interview with BBC’s pidgin language service, said the government was looking to impose a fine of up to $10 billion on Binance.

However, a spokesperson told the People’s Gazette that the exchange was not in talks with the government about a fine of that sum.

Binance did not immediately return multiple requests for comment.

“We recently discussed ways to resolve issues with Nigeria, but we did not hear any demand for $10 billion,” a Binance spokesperson reportedly told the People’s Gazette.

Read more: Former Binance CEO’s sentencing delayed until April

The government official quoted by BBC said later Friday that his comments were misrepresented.

Bayo Onanuga, a spokesperson for President Bola Tinubu, told the People’s Gazette that Nigeria “may impose heavy fines on Binance for what happened.”

“I never said Binance had been informed about the fines or that it would definitely be $10 billion,” he reportedly added.  

Earlier this week, two Binance executives were detained in the country, according to multiple media reports.

Bloomberg reported that the two have not yet been charged, but could reportedly be charged with tax evasion, illegal operations and even currency manipulation. The report cited unnamed sources. 

Read more: Crypto tax evasion cases are on the rise: Bloomberg

Nigeria reportedly began cracking down on some crypto exchanges late last week. On Thursday, Feb. 22, the exchange confirmed to Blockworks that some users had trouble accessing Binance’s website.

“We remain committed to adhering to applicable local regulations and laws, with a dedicated focus on maintaining active engagement with all relevant stakeholders, regulators and policymakers,” a Binance spokesperson told Blockworks at the time.

All of this comes after Nigeria’s central bank governor Olayemi Cardoso named Binance in a press conference last week. Cardoso said that $26 billion has passed through Binance Nigeria, according to multiple media reports

He said the sum came from “sources and users who we cannot adequately identify.”   


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Featured.png

Research

Helium stands at a pivotal moment in its evolution as a decentralized wireless network, balancing rapid growth, economic restructuring, and global expansion. With accelerated growth in domestic DAUs and Hotspots supporting its network, Helium is leveraging strategic partnerships and innovative proposals to scale internationally. The recent implementation of HIP 138, “Return to HNT,” has unified its token economy under HNT, simplifying participation and strengthening liquidity, while HIP 139’s phase-out of CBRS refocuses efforts on scalable Wi-Fi offload. Meanwhile, governance shifts under HIP 141 raise questions about centralization as Nova Labs consolidates control over the roadmap.

article-image

In 2011, WikiLeaks faced a financial blockade imposed by the US government. It was Bitcoin’s first major test.

article-image

Kado’s founder Emery Andrew spoke to Blockworks about the acquisition and what’s next for the team

article-image

LayerZero’s Bryan Pellegrino chatted with Blockworks about the firm’s next steps and its 10-year runway

article-image

Colosseum co-founder Matty Taylor is seeing “high-performance [Solana] founders showing a lot of interest in private trading technology”

article-image

Executives weigh the growth potential they see in the public stock and private credit/equities arenas

article-image

Players can stake ME, trade tokens and link wallets to climb the leaderboard