Nigeria Financial News

Troubled cryptocurrency exchange Binance continues to withdraw from major markets amid the ongoing pushback from global regulators.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has announced that Binance has officially issued a cease and desist notice to the fraudulent entity known as Binance Nigeria Limited. 

Binance crypto exchange has decided to withdraw from the Dutch market following an unsuccessful attempt to obtain a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license from the Dutch regulator.

The nonprofit Human Rights Foundation (HRF) has launched a central bank digital currency (CBDC) tracker, the organization announced at the same Oslo Freedom House event it hosts. The online tracker has published educational materials and a tip line. It is expected to become fully functional by year-end.

Nigeria, known for its growing adoption of cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin (BTC), on June 14, floated the nation’s naira currency to allow banks and other forex market actors to trade the currency freely. This new policy can have several implications for crypto traders. 

The latest episode of Cointelegraph’s Hashing It Out podcast delves into how blockchain technology is changing how young Africans interact with each other. Joining host Elisha Owusu Akyaw for the conversation is Eric Annan, the CEO of Aya, a platform that uses blockchain technology to provide training and connect Africans to the job market. 

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has been ordered to cease operations in Nigeria by the country's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

It has been a tough week for cryptocurrency exchange Binance. On June 9, Nigeria's securities authority reportedly deemed the exchange illegal, just days after Binance was sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 

On the eve of his departure from office, May 28, former President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law the Finance Act 2023. 

Decentralized wireless (DeWi) network operator World Mobile said on June 8 it has completed field tests of its DeWi technology in Kenya, Mozambique, and Nigeria, bringing it closer to a full rollout across the African continent, the company said in the announcement.

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Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong criticized US lawmakers and regulators over their approach to bringing “regulatory clarity” to cryptocurrency and warned that innovation is moving offshore.

The Bank of Japan released the results and findings of a report on central bank digital currencies 

Despite a «wild year» of scandal and failure in 2022 when the FTX exchange and a number of crypto dealers collapsed, Peter Smith, chief executive of London-based Blockchain.com, told the Qatar Economic Forum that there is now «real growth» in the crypto community. Smith, who said nearly a decade as head of Blockchain.com had left him with «no nerve endings», told how other countries were taking advantage of the void left by the US where some regulators were «openly negative about crypto». While some US legislators want to see rules for a cryptocurrency market, regulators there have taken a tough line because of fears of money laundering and scams such as the FTX collapse. Former FTX chief Sam Bankman-Fried is due to go on trial in New York in October.

Patricia, a Nigerian platform for gift card and crypto trading, has encountered a security breach, prompting immediate measures to safeguard its users. As a precautionary step, the platform has temporarily suspended fund withdrawals.

Nigeria’s eNaira central bank digital currency (CBDC) is over a year old, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has a late birthday present for it, in the form of a working paper assessing its first year of performance. “Laudable,” said IMF researchers, but there were a few suggestions too.

Bitget, a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, has announced a new corporate social responsibility project, Blockchain4Youth, aimed at promoting cryptocurrency education among the younger generation. The initiative will allocate $10 million over five years towards providing blockchain courses and certifications through Bitget Academy and hosting campus lectures in partnership with universities worldwide. Bitget will also collaborate with other leading blockchain firms to incubate innovative projects by young entrepreneurs and host U30 (Under the age of 30) hackathons to identify the most promising ones.

Last week brought several significant international developments in regulation. Argentina’s central bank banned payment providers from offering crypto transactions, adding that it intends to reduce the country’s payment-system exposure to digital assets. While local payment providers refuse to comment on the decision, Argentina’s fintech chamber urged the government to reconsider, claiming that “it limits access to a technology that offers multiple benefits and opportunities for our society.”

The approval of the National Blockchain Policy in Nigeria has left the nation’s crypto community over the moon as it signals room for more development in the nation’s crypto industry. Some local experts have expressed their opinions about the implications of this new policy in Nigeria in relation to the current blockchain ecosystem in Nigeria.

Jack Dorsey's crypto firm TBD has partnered with Paxful co-founder Ray Youssef to launch a decentralized peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto trading platform.

Nigeria Federal Executive Council approved a national blockchain policy in a meeting on May 3, 2023.