Binance has acknowledged reports that Nigerian users are experiencing difficulties accessing its official website, following the government’s directive to block the sites of prominent crypto platforms.
In a February 22 email sent to its users and obtained by CryptoSlateBinance clarified that the restriction only affects attempts to reach the official Binance.com site, meaning app users are not affected by the measure.
Binance has not yet responded Crypto Slates requesting additional comments as of press time.
In the meantime, CryptoSlate can confirm that the websites of notable crypto companies, such as Binance, Coinbase and Kraken, were inaccessible at the time of writing. However, platforms such as KuCoin, Gemini Exchange, the peer-to-peer platform noOnes and Justin Sun’s HTX remained accessible.
Why did Nigeria block crypto sites?
This development came amid concerns that Nigerian forex traders were using Binance’s peer-to-peer platform for currency speculation activities.
Bayo Onanuga, a special advisor to the Nigerian presidency, accused Binance of taking on a role that belongs to the Nigerian Central Bank and called for a complete ban on the emerging crypto sector in the African country.
However, Binance refutes these claims, stating that it is not a price discovery platform and that market conditions dictate prices on its platform. The exchange further emphasized that they are powerless over the multifaceted factors that influence exchange rates.
“We continue to actively work with regulators, policymakers and other relevant stakeholders to promote an open, transparent dialogue on the governance of the evolving cryptocurrency and financial markets landscape,” it added.
Nigerians are resorting to VPNs
Nigeria’s social media space is littered with various crypto stakeholders advising their community on the use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) in light of this ban.
Mikael Bernard, a crypto and financial market analyst, warned his followers against using US servers to access their accounts, which could lead to a ban.
“If you use a VPN, don’t use US servers. You would get banned. Use other countries. Only for crypto newcomers,” Bernard wrote.
Binance is currently embroiled in regulatory issues in the US. The company recently agreed to a record $4.3 billion fine, and its former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, is awaiting sentencing in the US.
Despite these challenges, Binance’s data reflects robust activity for its USDT/NGN trading pair, with nearly 5 billion Naira in transactions, equivalent to $3 million USDT, in the past 24 hours.