Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, has denied rumors that Nigerian authorities had blocked his bitcoin exchange. He stressed that Coinbase’s products are completely up and running in Nigeria. The Coinbase executive confirmed, “We have not received any outreach or communication from officials in Nigeria.” According to reports, Binance has acknowledged that certain Nigerian consumers are having trouble using its platform.
According to Coinbase, the exchange is still active in Nigeria.
On the social media platform X on Friday, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong responded to rumors of cryptocurrency exchanges being prohibited in Nigeria. According to reports, telecom providers were given instructions by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Wednesday to limit customer access to the websites of significant cryptocurrency exchanges including Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken.
Armstrong emphasized that Coinbase products are still up and running, calling the reports about the company “inaccurate” as far as he is aware. The CEO of Coinbase also disclosed that his organization has not heard from or been contacted by Nigerian government representatives.
In the meantime, Binance has acknowledged to Bloomberg News that certain Nigerian users are having trouble using its platform. However, a representative for the cryptocurrency exchange emphasized that “users’ funds are secure.”
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s special adviser, Bayo Onanuga, accused Binance on Wednesday of “blatantly setting exchange rate for Nigeria” and “hijacking CBN [Central Bank of Nigeria] role” in a post on X. “Binance, which is causing disruptions in the currency market and is facing regulatory showdown in many countries, should not be allowed to dictate the value of the Naira, not on its crypto exchange platform,” he continued. Onanuga emphasized:
If cryptocurrency is not outlawed in our nation, the depreciation of our currency will not stop.
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