The Nigerian government has expressed its acceptance of the crypto industry despite ongoing legal battles with the Binance exchange. The West African nation has described the recent clashes with the world’s largest exchange as efforts to strengthen its regulatory environment.
Binance Crackdown Mandatory To Curb Crime, Uphold Regulatory Standards: Nigerian Minister
In a recent interview with media outlet Semafor, Nigeria’s Minister of Information Mohammed Idris suggested the nation stays crypto-friendly amid pending lawsuits against Binance. Since 2024, the Nigerian government has acted against Binance operations inside its borders citing multiple reasons.
Notably in March 2024, the leaders of Africa’s most populous nation demanded compensation of $10 billion from Binance for allegedly manipulating the foreign exchange rate leading to a 70% devaluation of the Nigerian Naira. These statements got here amid the detention of Binance executive Tigran Gambrayan over allegations of cash laundering activities on the crypto platform which eventually lasted for over eight months.
Most recently in February 2025, the Nigerian government sued Binance again for $79.5 million, citing economic losses on account of the exchange’s alleged illegal operations within the country. Nigerian officials have previously suggested that Binance processed over $26.5 billion in Nigerian transactions despite being an unregistered identity.
The Nigerian Minister of Information explained that the crackdown on Binance was in fear of those cryptocurrency transactions supporting illicit activities resembling money laundering, tax evasion, and terrorism financing. Subsequently, the legal motion was solely aimed toward maintaining regulatory integrity and stopping crime.
Mohammed Idris said:
This is a component of the trouble to strengthen our laws, to not cripple anybody. We’re ensuring that nobody comes and operates without regulation. This is a component of the trouble to strengthen our laws, to not cripple anybody. We’re ensuring that nobody comes and operates without regulation.
The Minister further added:
It isn’t just Nigeria. Internationally it’s also essential to handle illicit financial flows. You’ll be able to’t have an enormous amount of transactions that don’t meet the operations of monetary dealers.
Amidst this heightened regulatory scrutiny, Binance has since closed down its Nigerian market halting all transactions involving the Naira. Nevertheless, the Nigerian government emphasizes its commitment to a blossoming crypto industry in accordance with operational and regulatory standards.
Crypto Market Overview
Despite showing signs of a bull run in Q4 2024, the crypto market has struggled to reestablish the same form as indicated by recurring widespread corrections and market uncertainty since December.
On the time of writing, the entire crypto market is valued at $2.72 trillion reflecting a 0.88% gain up to now week. Bitcoin maintains a 60.5% market dominance because the leading cryptocurrency followed by Ethereum at 8.7% and other altcoins at 30.8%.
Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview
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