Nigerian authorities are gearing up for the next phase of their crackdown on crypto trading, targeting peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms such as OKX, Binance, KuCoin and Bybit, according to a trending circular on social media platform X.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said the information in the circular did not come from it, claiming it was “fake content.” People familiar with the matter said it was not unusual in the region to backtrack on unpopular policies.
The memo
According to the trending circular, the CBN has directed financial institutions in the country to identify individuals or entities transacting with these exchanges and implement a six-month Post No Debit (PND) instruction on their accounts.
According to the bank, the said platforms are not licensed to operate in Nigeria and are currently under investigation. It added that defaulters of this directive would face strict legal sanctions.
The bank also warned that any trader “illegally buying and selling USDT” would be arrested.
The CBN further reminded regulated financial entities in the country that they were prohibited from trading in cryptocurrencies or facilitating payments for crypto exchanges.
Olumide Adesina, a business journalist, explained The CBN’s official position was that only entities regulated by the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the crypto market can deal with these issues. banks.
More than 300 P2P accounts frozen
In a recent press conference, Ola Olukayode, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFFC), noted that transactions on P2P platforms such as KuCoin were exacerbating the country’s currency woes.
He said the anti-graft agency had frozen about 300 suspected illegal forex accounts trading on P2P platforms. It is striking that more than 15 billion dollars passed through one of these platforms in the past year.
This development comes as the Nigerian government has taken a strict stance on crypto to stabilize the foreign exchange market. Initially, authorities attributed the weak value of the Nigerian Naira against the US dollar to the speculative activities of currency traders on the cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
The stock exchange has denied these allegations but remains on trial, along with two of its executives, for tax evasion and money laundering.
Binance said it is cooperating with authorities and called for the release of its detained employees.
April 24 Update: Updated with information from the Central Bank of Nigeria.