By John Ikani
Reports on social media are claiming that Binance, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, is reportedly blocking the accounts of its African users, particularly Nigerians and those that are active in its Peer-to-Peer (P2P) exchange.
Many users of the platform, especially Nigerians and other Africans, alleged that they have been deprived of access to their wallets (account) without significant reasons.
Some said they have experienced notable irregularities in their wallet which has made them lose a huge amount of their investment amidst the existing dip in the prices of cryptocurrencies.
“Since last year 2021, Binance disabled my account with over 35,000$ . I’ve been communicating with them & they gave me an email to chat that doesn’t respond to mails for no tangible reason, my account got disabled,” a tweet by Charles read.
https://twitter.com/charles21590879/status/1486264975551311872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Another user Cynthia @Cyndera7 said: “A Nigerian trader who had his entire assets on Binance nearly committed suicide because of this. I have $400,000+ in my disabled account🤦💔. They’ve been targeting Nigerians and Africans as a whole. Please save us from Binance.#Binance #BinanceStopScamming #BinanceStealingCrypto.”
A Nigerian trader who had his entire assets on binance nearly comitetd suicide because of this. I have $400,000+ in my disabled account🤦💔.They've been targeting Nigerians and Africans as a whole. Please save us from Binance#Binance #BinanceStopScamming #BinanceStealingCrypto
— Chidera Anih (@Cyndera7) January 25, 2022
What Binance is saying about the blocked accounts
The exchange in a statement issued on their Twitter page, acknowledged the complaints noting that it will investigate and provide solutions swiftly.
The tweet read: “Dear Nigeria Binancians. It has been brought to our attention that some Binance users’ accounts have been restricted. Please be rest assured the Binance team is working on it. User security remains our top priority.”
In the tweet, the exchange attached a google form for those still experiencing issues with accessing their accounts. The tweet further read, “We will further investigate and provide solutions swiftly. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.”
Binance in 2021 and even till now, has been facing regulatory pressure from all over the world, including America, where there is a probe by the Department of Justice and IRS into potential illicit activities.
