Photos: YouTube Screenshots\Wikimedia Commons
Nigeria remains open to cryptocurrency companies, its information minister told Semafor, even as the government pursues an $80 billion lawsuit against Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange.
Abuja filed the multibillion-dollar legal action against Binance last month over economic losses it says were caused by the firm’s operations in the country, months after it detained one of the company’s US staff members in a money laundering case.
“This is part of the effort to strengthen our laws, not to cripple anybody. We are ensuring that no one comes and operates without regulation,” said Nigerian Information Minister Mohammed Idris. “There are other companies operating in the crypto sector in Nigeria, you don’t see them [facing charges].”
Idris added that the government was “really concerned” about the potential use of crypto in financing terrorism, money laundering, and tax evasion.
Nigeria is second only to India on crypto adoption in the world, according to an index by data firm Chainalysis that weighs for population and purchasing power. Nigeria received approximately $59 billion in crypto transactions between July 2023 and June 2024, the firm said.
