Following outrage by some Nigerians’ last week over Binance’s cryptocurrency account limitations, the company responded on Sunday that the move was made to avoid fraud-related transactions.
Binance is one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, with 281 Nigerian users currently registered.
The site shut down accounts last week after being accused of lax money laundering procedures.
Some of the affected traders had lamented that their accounts have been blocked for months without being flagged.
However, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Changpeng Zhao, responded to the news in a letter, stating that 38 percent of the impacted accounts had been banned at the request of foreign law enforcement.
The issue is not just peculiar to Nigerians as traders in other countries are currently affected.
In the letter titled, ‘A letter from our CEO to Nigerians: Our commitment to user protection’, Zhao said, “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:
“Currently, we have resolved 79 cases and continue to work through others. All non-law enforcement-related cases will be resolved within two weeks.”
