‘Regulation should not come as strangulation’- SiBAN reacts to restriction of crypto platforms

In the wake of reports that the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has imposed restrictions on Binance and other crypto exchanges, the President of the Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SiBAN), Obinna Iwuno has described the move as a wrong one, intent on strangulating not just the crypto space, but the entire economy.

The president stated this in a chat with Technext. While noting that no government agency like the CBN, NCC or even the FG itself has admitted to imposing the restriction, however, many people, including SiBAN members, experienced challenges with accessing their crypto wallets on these exchanges.

“On the said date, people experienced challenges with logging in to their crypto accounts. A lot of people were not able to access their accounts on some of these platforms including some of our members. It is something that people experienced but we cannot say for sure which quarter it was coming from as nobody came to claim or take responsibility for it.  Nevertheless, if that were to be the case and the truth of the matter, then it is a wrong move,” Obinna told Technext.

In its desperate effort to stem the freefall of the national currency, the naira, the Central Bank of Nigeria, in conjunction with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) reportedly directed all telecommunications companies in the country to restrict access to crypto companies’ websites and applications.

This was followed by reports last Wednesday that websites of crypto exchanges like Binance, Kraken, Coinbase, OctaFX and others were no longer accessible for Nigerian users but many users still had access to applications, Binance specifically. 

However, in the early hours of Thursday, users noted that the application of the crypto exchange, Binance, is no longer accessible using Nigerian Telecoms like MTN, Glo and Airtel, except for users using Starlink. 

Nigerian authorities are reportedly making this move to avert what it sees as continuous manipulation of the FX market, as part of efforts to avert the free fall of the local currency. Following reports that speculators use p2p marketplaces to significantly weaken the naira, the government decided to move against Binance and other crypto firms.

SiBAN restates call for crypto regulation not restriction

The SiBan president, Obinna Iwuno, in the chat with Technext, restated the call for crypto regulation in the country. He explained that rather than always resorting to bans and restrictions, putting regulations in place would solve whatever issues the government has with crypto use in the country, noting that this would lead to the economic growth of both the government and the crypto space in general.

“What the FG should be doing is not restrictions and banning but regulating. And this is what we have been asking for years. Regulate the industry. Regulate the sector. And the regulation should not come as a strangulation. The idea is to have regulation that supports innovation and growth. That is what we should be talking about,” he said.

He also pointed out that anything done to strangulate or ban cryptocurrency may not entirely work as it would be against the interest of the country. He noted that not putting crypto regulation in place would shortchange the Nigerian economy for the benefit it is supposed to be getting from the digital assets sector.

He said SiBAN remains in support of the growth of Blockchain technology and remains steadfast in its desire to work with the government to see that Nigeria is positioned rightly in the global committee of things when it comes to digital assets, blockchain technology and the innovation that is going on in Web3.

“So this is our position. Let us come together and forge a pathway for growth and progress that benefits both the players and stakeholders in the sector and the regulators and the FG. This turn will affect our economy and create jobs for our teeming youth population. This is what we have said. This is what we know is possible. This is what we know will happen if the right thing is done,” he said.

See also: Naira free fall: Nigerian authorities finally ban access to crypto exchanges