Many Nigerians trading inside the Binance platform have complained about the inability to initiate or complete transactions. Binance Holdings Ltd. announced on January 31 that it was restricting the personal accounts of some Nigerian users.
According to the exchange, this was done to comply with anti-money laundering regulations and to ensure the safety of the platform as a whole for traders.
This is not the first time Nigerian users have faced problems when trading cryptocurrency. Last year, for example, Nigeria's central bank asked lenders not to make transactions on cryptocurrency exchanges and even ordered digital currency traders to block these accounts.
"Protection mechanisms such as KYC, anti-money laundering measures, collaboration with law enforcement, and account restrictions are in place to ensure our community remains protected and that fraudulent activity is prevented," the exchange officials say on the website.
The publication also says that 281 Nigerian have been restricted. More than a third of them were blocked at the request of the regulatory authorities.
Despite this and similar restrictions, Nigerians continue to use virtual currencies, primarily to hedge inflation and the decline of the Naira, Nigeria's national currency, as well as for easy international money transfers.
According to a Statista survey last year, Nigerians own the highest per capita share of such assets in the world.
Binance has managed to lift restrictions on 79 accounts. Going forward, the company plans to employ more customer service staff and risk agents to speed up the resolution process.
"All non-law enforcement-related cases will be resolved within two weeks," the statement said.
Thus, Binance has consolidated all insurance funds against damage caused by cybercriminals to network users into one fund. The market value of it is estimated at $1 trillion.
