Breaking: Binance Declared “Illegal” By Nigeria SEC, Ordered To Cease Operations

Nigeria’s SEC declares Binance Nigeria Limited as "illegal" and asked the exchange to cease its operations in the country.
By Varinder Singh
Updated September 4, 2025
Will This Move By Binance Create Ripple Effect For BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP Rally?

The world’s largest crypto exchange Binance’s operations in Nigeria is declared “illegal” by Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission on Saturday.

Troubles for Binance continue to mount as the crypto exchange and related firms face challenges after the US Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit.

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Nigeria SEC Bans Binance In the Country

Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission has declared Binance’s subsidiary Binance Nigeria Limited as “illegal” and asked the exchange to cease its operations in the country.

According to the statement issued by Nigeria SEC, Binance is neither registered nor regulated by the agency and its operations are “illegal” in the country. In addition, the agency ordered Binance to stop Nigerians from investing on the platform and warned of regulatory action against crypto exchanges.

“Binance Nigeria Limited is neither registered nor regulated by the Commission and its operations in Nigeria are therefore illegal. Any member of the investing public dealing with the entity is doing so at his/her own risk.”

Nigeria has already banned lenders from processing cryptocurrency transactions. However, Nigeria still ranks among the top countries witnessing crypto adoption and accounts for the largest volume of crypto transactions through peer-to-peer trading platforms outside the US.

The SEC has warned Nigerians of investing in crypto assets and crypto asset-related financial products and services due to high risks involved in crypto.

The move came after Nigeria passed the Finance Act 2023 imposing a capital gains tax of 10% on digital assets, including cryptocurrencies.

Also Read: Binance To Temporarily Suspend All Crypto Margin And Earn Related Services

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US SEC Lawsuit Increasing Problems for the Exchange

On Monday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission brought 13 charges against Binance, Binance.US, and Changpeng “CZ” Zhao. This caused major disruptions in the crypto market, with firms reluctant to work with Binance’s US arm.

The company behind TrueUSD (TUSD) stablecoin announced today that minting via crypto custodian Prime Trust is paused. TUSD and Prime Trust are believed to be primarily used by Binance.

Also Read: Crypto Market Crash: Here’s Why Bitcoin, Ethereum, Altcoins Are Falling Sharply

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Varinder Singh
Varinder has over 10 years of experience and is known as a seasoned leader for his involvement in the fintech sector. With over 5 years dedicated to blockchain, crypto, and Web3 developments, he has experienced two Bitcoin halving events making him key opinion leader in the space. At CoinGape Media, Varinder leads the editorial decisions, spearheading the news team to cover latest updates, markets trends and developments within the crypto industry. The company was recognized as Best Crypto Media Company 2024 for high impact and quality reporting. Being a Master of Technology degree holder, analytics thinker, technology enthusiast, Varinder has shared his knowledge of disruptive technologies in over 5000+ news, articles, and papers.
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