Binance Delisted Nigerian Naira From The P2P Platform; Why?

Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange, took a significant step and pulled the Nigerian Naira from the P2P platform.         

Removing the Nigerian currency, the Naira, from peer-to-peer (P2P) service again turned the sights of individuals towards the Binance exchange. The Nigerian government’s claim for $10 billion in compensation emerged as a major rationale behind Binance’s strict action. P2P platform permits individuals to trade, sell, or buy digital assets without third-party involvement. The platform became popular among Nigerians in 2021.           

Binance Vs. Nigeria: The whole story 

An aide to President Bola Tinubu said that Nigeria will demand cryptocurrency exchange Binance to pay $10 Billion for alleged damages caused to the government by its operations.

“This country suffered huge losses from their operations and the government is asking for a small amount from them,” said Bayo Onanuga, the president’s adviser on information and strategy. 

“We are demanding them to pay us nearly $10 billion in compensation because they really ruined our economy in a very short time,” he said.

Onanuga accused traders of using the crypto exchange to manipulate Nigeria’s currency, weakening the central bank, which he said is “the only authority that can fix the country’s exchange rates.” 

He verified reports earlier this week that two members of the Binance team “were detained when they came to Nigeria.”.

According to news publication Premium Times, Nigeria’s national security adviser’s office said law enforcement agencies and the central bank are investigating Binance’s operations in the country.

However, the exchange didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment from Semafor Africa.

Stepping back 

It is not the first time Nigerian administrations have requested a huge amount from a foreign company for alleged breaches. Nigeria charged a $5.2 billion fine on South African telecoms company MTN for failing to disconnect 5 million unrecorded SIM cards. The company bargained the fine down to $980 million, which it paid in 2019.

Nigeria is facing low growth. Africa’s biggest economy increased by 2.7% last year, the lowest rate since the country’s recession in 2020, and the value of the nation’s naira currency has fallen in the wake of economic reforms presented since Tinubu took office last May.

Binance crypto exchange at a glimpse

Binance is one of the biggest crypto exchanges in terms of daily trading volume of digital assets. The platform was founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao.

The crypto exchange supports a wide variety of digital assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), etc. It offers crypto-to-crypto trading services, crypto wallets, and programs for miners and traders to make investment decisions. 

The platform also has its own blockchain-based token, BNB, which currently stands at $410.46, a hike of 0.67% in one day. The token has a market cap of $61,367,510,450 and $1,566,292,559 in 24-hour volume.  

According to CoinMarketCap data, the total supply of BNB tokens is 149,542,013 BNB, and the circulation supply is 149,542,013 BNB.