Nigerian Officials Crack Down on Peer-to-Peer Crypto Trading as Naira’s Value Plummets

Nigeria’s crypto investors are once again facing a familiar battle as the country’s fiat currency, the naira, has plummeted 15% against the US dollar in the last week. This drop comes after a month-long effort by the Central Bank of Nigeria to prop up the naira’s value, following its lowest-ever level in the foreign exchange market.

Authorities are once again pointing fingers at crypto peer-to-peer trading for the currency’s fall, despite the recent ban on Binance and the arrest of two of its executives on charges of money laundering and tax evasion. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has uncovered alleged foreign exchange racketeering that they claim is “worse than Binance.”

The EFCC has obtained a court order to freeze 300 accounts involved in P2P transactions, with one trader allegedly facilitating $15 billion in transactions last year. Pro-government figures have launched online campaigns against exchanges like KuCoin, ByBit, and OKX, which have become popular platforms for Nigerians to trade the naira for USDT.

Despite the crackdown, Rume Ophi, executive secretary of the Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria, believes a crypto ban is unlikely. Ophi pointed to the government’s campaign promise to use crypto and blockchain technology to improve the financial sector. He suggested that Nigeria follow in South Africa’s footsteps by creating a favorable regulatory landscape for crypto exchanges.

As the battle with crypto in Nigeria continues, investors are bracing themselves for potential government intervention. Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.