The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently issued a statement emphasizing that Binance Nigeria, a subsidiary of the renowned global cryptocurrency exchange Binance, is not registered or regulated by the SEC. As a result, the operations of Binance Nigeria within Nigeria are deemed illegal.
According to the SEC's official website, Binance Nigeria Limited has actively promoted its web and mobile-enabled platforms to the Nigerian public. However, the SEC has unequivocally stated that the company's activities are in violation of Nigerian law. Consequently, the SEC urges Nigerians to exercise caution when engaging with unregistered and unregulated platforms like Binance Nigeria.
This notice follows a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against Binance.US, the U.S. counterpart of the global exchange. The lawsuit accuses Binance.US of operating an illegal securities exchange. Additionally, this development comes in the wake of Nigeria's implementation of a 10% tax on digital assets as outlined in the recently enacted Finance Act for the year 2023