Nigeria regulator says entity named after Binance not registered: Reuters

A local entity named after — and unaffiliated with — the crypto exchange Binance has been ordered to stop operating in Nigeria by the country's markets regulator.

"Binance Nigeria Limited is hereby directed to immediately stop soliciting Nigerian investors in any form whatsoever," said Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to Reuters. The regulator added that the entity's operations are unregistered and unregulated.

“We are aware of the circular, however, the entity mentioned in the circular is not affiliated with us," said a Binance spokesperson via Telegram. "We are therefore seeking clarity from the Nigerian SEC and remain committed to working with them cooperatively on the next steps."

A report by DL News says that the entity was set up in the hope that it could be sold to the real exchange. The person who set up it has also registered other entities with names similar to other exchanges and crypto companies.

The real Binance has a sizeable community in Nigeria, with a 64,000-strong Telegram community and an announcements channel dedicated to the region.

In May, Nigeria's markets regulator published 54 pages of regulations for digital assets. The regulations spelled out rules for issuing digital assets and classified them as securities to be regulated by the SEC. They also included registration requirements for digital asset offerings and custodians, as well as rules for digital asset exchanges.

Updated with comment from Binance, a report by DL News and to show this was not an entity owned by Binance.