With regards to the Securities Exchange Commission’s special framework program for onboarding Virtual Assets Service Providers (VASPs), Binance has disclosed two critical conditions that must be met, otherwise they’d not be registering.
Details of Binance’s Stance
Previously, the SEC authorized Quidax and Busha giving them the status of legally recognized crypto trading platforms in the country under the Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP). This authorization is an ‘Approval-in-Principle’ which means that the acceptance or permission given is based on certain conditions and clauses.
Through this ARIP, the federal government now has cryptocurrency and digital assets platforms under their regulatory domain, especially regarding tax duty and other paramount issues related to national security.
Hence, in response to all these, a Binance spokesperson released two conditions that must be met before heeding the demand to join ARIP.
Also Read: Naira Rates: Nigeria Foreign Reserve Hits $36.87B Following the Sale of Domestic Dollar Bond
The conditions are:
- Settlement with the Nigerian Government
- Release of Detained Binance Executive, Tigran Gambaryan
Remember that Binance was condemned and accused by Nigeria’s Minister of Information, Idris Mohammed, of having a turnover of over $20 billion in Nigeria in 2023 alone, without paying taxes.
The federal government even began an indictment on Binance on the premise of tax evasion, money laundering, and foreign exchange contravention. Binance, on their end, denied these allegations.
In his speech, the spokesperson stated that until these legal and regulatory issues are looked into and resolved, there’d be no need to come under SEC’s program.
“We are pleased that Nigeria is making progress in the development of its digital assets regime. We hope that someday soon, once Tigran has been freed and our issues are settled, we may seek registration.”
Comments from SEC Official
The SEC Director Abdulkadir Abbas had a few things to say regarding Binance. He mentioned that the stance of the authorities would not change and that the SEC’s press release on ARIP and approval for Quidax and a few others remains Nigeria’s “position” for all cryptocurrency platforms seeking to operate lawfully in Nigeria.
Final Thoughts
A lot of speculations have arisen since the apprehension of Binance’s executives by the authorities as well the legal battles from the accusations. At the end of the day, all eyes await the verdict of the judiciary to get to the end of this dispute.
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