Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) declared Binance’s operation in the country illegal and ordered the exchange to stop soliciting Nigerian investors.

On June 9, the Nigerian SEC declared that Binance was operating illegally in the country as it was neither registered nor regulated by the Commission.

The Commission stated that Binance had encouraged the Nigerian public to trade crypto assets on its unregistered platforms. As a result, the exchange faces an immediate ban from soliciting Nigerian investors in any form.

The SEC warned Nigerians from dealing with the entity. Binance is a top crypto platform in the African country, becoming a market leader after FTX’s collapse. In 2022, the exchange was in discussions with the Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) to establish a virtual free zone focused on blockchain and the digital economy.

As of press time, Binance was yet to respond to BeInCrypto’s request for comment.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian SEC’s declaration is coming on the heels of several pro-crypto moves made by the country. In May, the regulator said it would allow the tokenization of assets like equities, property, and debt. The Nigerian government later approved the formal use of blockchain technology.

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Binance has recently faced increased regulatory pressures across multiple jurisdictions like the U.S., Canada, and Australia.

The U.S. SEC filed a lawsuit against the exchange, CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao, and its U.S. subsidiary, Binance.US, on June 5, accusing it of violating federal securities law. Following the lawsuit, the regulator moved to freeze Binance U.S.’ assets and issued a court summons to Zhao.

Amid these issues, the Binance.US platform will transition to a ‘crypto-only exchange’ and delist all its USD pairs by June 13.

Additionally, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sued the firm in March, alleging regulatory commodity violations. The CFTC has provided little update on the matter since then.

Meanwhile, the platform has promised to continue cooperating with regulators and will defend itself in court.

Binance exited the Canadian market in May, citing the unfavorable regulatory environment. Before then, the firm had canceled its derivatives license with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). At the time, the financial regulator said it was reviewing the exchange’s compliance with local laws.

The post Binance Nigeria Declared Illegal Despite Country’s Blockchain Technology Push appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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