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.”   


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.

Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 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.

recent research

Unlocked by Template.png

Research

RTK networks are critical to enabling a world of ubiquitous autonomous drones, vehicles, and industrial robots. We believe the GEOD token enables both a cost and product advantage for the GEODNET RTK network, which will allow it to out-compete multi-billion dollar incumbents Trimble and Hexagon.

article-image

Hunter Horsley says Solana is one of this cycle’s breakout successes that he thinks clients will want to access

article-image

SOL has climbed more than 2,000% in the past two years

article-image

MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor alluded to Marathon’s CEO during a X Spaces on Tuesday

article-image

Crypto’s calls are equally as juiced as puts, creating a “smile” in the volatility surface

article-image

Turns out that owning the end-user via a crypto wallet is quite a prosperous business

article-image

The announcement followed growing speculation that Gensler would announce his exit before Trump takes office next year