"Who is worth 10 billion dollars?" An analysis of the Binance vs. Nigeria mix-up

Written by: Ahmed Oluwasanjo

Compiled by: Moni, Odaily Planet Daily

On the last day of February, news related to Binance caught the attention of the crypto community—Nigeria, a West African country, demanded $10 billion in compensation from Binance. However, according to the latest news, this matter seems to have taken a turn. What exactly happened behind the scenes?

Next, Odaily Planet Daily will help you clarify the ins and outs.

Timeline of the Binance vs. Nigeria Incident

On February 28, Reuters disclosed that two Binance executives were detained in Nigeria. Sources revealed that these executives flew to Nigeria after the country decided last week to ban multiple cryptocurrency trading websites, but they were detained by the National Security Advisor's office, and their passports were confiscated.

On February 29, several local media outlets reported that Nigeria's Central Bank Governor Olayemi Cardoso stated that $26 billion in untraceable funds flowed through Binance Nigeria last year. Nigeria is facing a foreign exchange crisis and is looking for ways to limit capital outflows, as the local currency, the naira, hit an all-time low on Wednesday. In addition to measures such as taxing foreign workers, there have been renewed calls to restrict cryptocurrency in the country, and local authorities will block users from accessing certain crypto exchanges—including Binance.

In fact, Nigeria has been a rapid adopter of cryptocurrency, but due to issues with tracing funds, some exchanges' services have caused significant headaches for the country's regulators. Local media Nairametrics reported that the Central Bank of Nigeria is working with multiple government agencies and the police to further investigate the flow of these funds. Earlier in 2023, Binance and an entity called "Binance Nigeria Limited" had already been warned by the country's securities regulator for engaging in "illegal activities."

On March 1, the BBC's report escalated the situation, stating that Nigeria's presidential media advisor Bayo Onanuga demanded that Binance pay at least $10 billion in compensation. This demand came against the backdrop of Nigeria cracking down on cryptocurrency exchanges and the depreciation of its currency. He also stated that if Binance did not stop, it would destroy Nigeria's economy due to arbitrary fixed exchange rates.

On the same day, Binance removed the Nigerian naira from its peer-to-peer (P2P) feature.

A major turnaround? Nigeria backtracks, stating it "never said the fine amount for Binance was $10 billion."

Just after several media outlets reported that Binance would be fined $10 billion in Nigeria, a response from Binance co-founder He Yi circulated in the community, stating: "Who is worth $10 billion?"

Soon, the situation seemed to take a turn.

According to local media Gazettengr, Binance stated last Friday that it had not engaged in any negotiations with the Nigerian government regarding a potential payment of up to $10 billion in fines, which clearly contradicts the report published by the BBC. An unnamed official from the exchange stated:

"We recently discussed ways to resolve issues with Nigeria, but we have not heard any demands for $10 billion."

"Interestingly," Binance seems to have no intention of discussing paying a hefty compensation to the Nigerian government to restore recently cut services or to release executives detained for alleged manipulation. Instead, the Binance official added:

"Binance's goal is to establish a good relationship with the Nigerian government and people, and we hope to see services in Nigeria restored soon, but we have no intention of paying fines for personnel or services."

What followed left the previous onlookers astonished.

Nigeria's presidential media advisor Bayo Onanuga urgently clarified that his statements to the BBC were distorted by the British media, and he never said that the company had been informed or that Nigerian regulators had decided on a fine. Bayo Onanuga explained:

"I said that the Nigerian government might impose a hefty fine on Binance for what has happened, but I never said that Binance had been informed of the fine, nor did I ever say that the fine amount was definitely $10 billion. I only mentioned that a certain amount of fine might be imposed, as everything is not yet finalized." (Bayo Onanuga repeatedly emphasized the uncertainty of the fine).

It is worth mentioning that while it is currently unclear what measures Binance has taken to release its personnel, Bayo Onanuga revealed that the detained "Binance employees have cooperated with the Nigerian government in providing information."

In summary, the claim that "Nigeria will impose a $10 billion fine on Binance" is likely a major misunderstanding, compounded by the BBC's misreported information that led to the erroneous escalation of the situation. After all—"Who is worth $10 billion?"