The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Nigeria has declared the activities of Binance in Nigeria illegal.
According to a statement published on its website, any Nigerian trading on Binance Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of the well-known global cryptocurrency exchange Binance, is doing so at his or her own risk.
SEC noted that the company’s activities are in violation of Nigerian law urging Nigerians to exercise caution when dealing with unregistered and unregulated platforms such as Binance Nigeria.
The statement from SEC reads: “The attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) has been drawn to the website operated by Binance Nigeria Limited, soliciting the Nigerian public to trade crypto assets on its various web and mobile-enabled platforms.
“Binance Nigeria Limited is neither registered nor regulated by the Commission and its operations in Nigeria are therefore illegal. Any member of the investing public dealing with the entity is doing so at his/her own risk.
“As the regulator with the statutory mandate of investor protection, the Commission urges Nigerians to be wary of investing in crypto-assets, and crypto-asset related financial products and services if the service provider/its platform is not registered or regulated by the Commission. Nigerian investors are hereby warned that investing in crypto-assets is extremely risky and may result in total loss of their investment.
“By this circular, Binance Nigeria Limited is hereby directed to immediately stop soliciting Nigerian investors in any form whatsoever.
“The Commission shall provide updates on further regulatory actions with respect to the activities of Binance Nigeria Limited, and other similar platforms and shall work with other regulators in Nigeria to provide further guidance on this matter.”
This notice comes after Binance.US, the U.S. subsidiary of the global exchange, was sued by the U.S. SEC, accused of operating an illegal securities exchange.
SEC also issued the warning after Nigeria passed a 10% tax on digital assets in its new Finance Act for the year 2023.