The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has declared the activities of crypto exchange Binance to be illegal in the country. In a Friday notice, the SEC ordered all crypto platform providers to cease soliciting Nigerian citizens. The SEC stated, The Commission again reiterates that the activities of Binance…are illegal in Nigeria. Last year, the SEC declared that all crypto should be viewed as securities.
The Commission also warned the public to be cautious when investing in crypto assets and other products offered by entities not registered or regulated by the SEC. The SEC further stated, By this circular, all platform providers, making such solicitations, are hereby directed to immediately stop soliciting Nigerian investors in any form whatsoever.
The Nigerian government has been processing crypto exchange applications on a trial basis, but will not complete registration until an agreement is reached with the central bank, which has blocked local financial institutions from interacting with crypto services providers. Binance was not able to respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment before press time.