Binance CEO explains why some Nigerians’ accounts have been blocked.

Changpeng Zhao, Binance’s Chief Executive Officer, indicated that the controversial limiting of accounts on the site is due to continuing fraud prevention initiatives.

Mr Zhao claimed 281 Nigerian cryptocurrency accounts were affected by these preemptive actions in a statement to the Nigerian community released on Sunday.

“These personal account limitations have impacted 281 Nigerian accounts, with about 38 percent of these cases prohibited at the behest of international law enforcement,” he stated.

Mr Zhao emphasized that the Nigerian community is one of great pride, noting that Nigeria and Africa as a whole have been “extremely special markets to us and for crypto” since Binance’s start.

The CEO’s statement comes days after several cryptocurrency traders flocked to Twitter to express their dissatisfaction with the various strange activity they witnessed on their Binance wallets.

Last Wednesday, several users of the network, particularly Nigerians and other Africans, claimed that they were denied access to their wallets (accounts) for no apparent reason.

Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange platform that allows users to deal with one another in a peer-to-peer (P2P) model.

“After hearing the community’s concerns, I decided to write to re-emphasize our commitment to you,” Mr Zhao stated on Sunday.

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.”