Why we restricted accounts owned by some Nigerians – Binance CEO

“This is a global approach applied in every country,” an official said” 

Binance Chief Executive Officer, Changpeng Zhao, has explained that the controversial restriction of accounts on its platform is due to ongoing measures to prevent fraudulent activities.

In a statement addressed to the Nigerian community, published on Sunday, Mr Zhao said 281 Nigerian cryptocurrency accounts were affected by these proactive measures.

“Some 281 Nigerian accounts have been affected by these personal account restrictions with approximately 38% of these cases restricted at the request of international law enforcement,” he said.

Mr Zhao emphasized that the Nigerian community is one that brings great pride, adding that since the inception of Binance, Nigeria and Africa at large have been “very special markets to us and for crypto.

The CEO’s comment came days after many traders of Cryptocurrencies took to Twitter to vent their anger and grievances over the various unusual activities they noticed on their wallets on the Binance platform.

Many users of the platform, especially Nigerians and other Africans, last Wednesday alleged that they had been deprived of access to their wallets (account) without significant reasons.

Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange platform where digital currency holders can transact seamlessly in a peer-to-peer (P2P) pattern.

“On hearing the concerns raised by the community, I decided to write to re-emphasize our commitment to you,” Mr Zhao said in his statement Sunday.

While apologizing for the inconvenience caused by delays in resolving customer support requests, Mr Zhao stated that “user security remains our top priority.”

He said: “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.”

Ongoing efforts

According to the statement, Mr Zhao said regardless of the bitter experiences, “we owe it to you, our users, to deliver the experience you deserve.”

In its bid to rebuild the trust of Nigerians on its brand, Mr Zhao said the company is ensuring speedy resolutions of ongoing user cases tied to account restrictions.

“Currently, we have resolved 79 cases and continue to work through others. All non-law enforcement-related cases will be resolved within two weeks,” he said.

He noted that the company is devoting more customer service personnel to the region, and that it will dedicate additional risk agents with a great understanding of the Nigerian market.

“Rest assured, we are working hard to attend to all customer service requests,” he explained.