Nigeria targets cryptocurrency to halt naira freefall

The world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange Binance is halting operations in Nigeria’s naira currency as the government puts cryptobusinesses under increasing scrutiny. The decision came after authorities in Africa’s biggest economy imposed restrictions on cryptocurrency exchanges as part of attempts to halt the sliding value of the local currency.

Nigeria’s central bank governor, Olayemi Cardoso, said at the end of last month that cryptocurrency exchanges were conduits for money laundering. He singled out Binance as the biggest culprit. “Certain practices go on that indicate illicit flows going through a number of these entities,” Cardoso said.

“In the case of Binance, in the last one year alone, $26 billion has passed through Binance Nigeria from sources and users who we cannot adequately identify.”

Changpeng Zhao, who was head of Binance, has pleaded guilty to violating anti-money laundering laws in the United States. With the naira weakening almost daily, crypto exchanges have been seen as one way Nigerians can protect their money against the currency’s plummet. Since the government floated the naira in May, the currency has fallen from around 410 to the dollar to around 1,600 naira to the greenback on the official exchange. In late February, a dollar was exchanged for as much as 1,900 naira on the black market.

Officials have accused crypto exchanges of distorting foreign exchange rates, contributing to the naira’s weakening. Binance did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment on the allegations. But in an email sent to its Nigerian users, the crypto giant said it was shutting down all its naira-based services on March 8.

“This affects NGN services only, you can continue to make use of services and products for other available cryptocurrencies,” the crypto giant said in the email seen by AFP, referring to the naira trading symbol NGN. Local media reported that two officials of the company who flew into Nigeria to negotiate with the government were detained and their passports seized.

Nigerian officials have not confirmed those arrests, but lawmakers are also considering issuing arrest warrants for the company’s top executives for “ignoring invitations”.