Binance CEO: Why We Restricted 281 Nigerian Accounts

One of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, Binance, has given reasons for restricting the accounts of 281 Nigerian users.

In a letter, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Changpeng Zhao, said 38 percent of the affected accounts were restricted at the request of international law enforcement.

There had been complaints on social media by multiple users of the Binance global exchange.

Some of the Nigerian users lamented that they could not access their accounts without any reason given by the exchange

On Wednesday, #BinanceStopScamming was the third trending topic on Nigerian Twitter with over 25,000 tweets. The trend also continued on Thursday with over 10,000 tweets.

In his response titled, ‘A letter from our CEO to Nigerians: Our commitment to user protection’, dated Saturday, January 29, Zhao hinted that some of the accounts were restricted to prevent fraud-related activities.

The letter read, “The Nigerian community is one that brings me great pride. Since the inception of Binance, Nigeria and Africa at large have been very special markets to us and for crypto. On hearing the concerns raised by the community, I decided to write to re-emphasize our commitment to you.

First and foremost, we are sorry for the inconvenience caused by delays in resolving your customer support requests. User security remains our top priority. We love and are devoted to our Nigerian community, but we must ensure that our users are safe. As such, 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. This is a global approach applied in every country.

“Some 281 Nigerian accounts have been affected by these personal account restrictions with approximately 38 per cent of these cases restricted at the request of international law enforcement.

“Regardless, we owe it to you, our users, to deliver the experience you deserve. Your trust in us is important — and here’s what we’re doing to rebuild that trust:

“Ensuring speedy resolutions of ongoing user cases tied to account restrictions: Currently, we have resolved 79 cases and continue to work through others. All non-law enforcement-related cases will be resolved within two weeks.

“Devoting more customer service personnel to the region: We will dedicate more CS and risk agents with a great understanding of the Nigerian market.”