Key Insights:
Binance has yet again landed in trouble, this time in Nigeria. Multiple arms of the Nigerian government have accused Binance of committing several financial crimes and have sought the attendance of its CEO, Richard Teng, for its alleged role in terror financing.
Earlier, Binance was reportedly asked to pay a $10 billion fine by the Nigerian government. The exchange's activity is currently curtailed in the country and its P2P arm has been blocked.
Richard Teng, who took over from Changepeng Zhao as Binance's global CEO has been summoned by the Committee on Financial Crimes of the House of Representatives. The summon had been issued for March 4, 2024, on the grounds of terror financing, tax evasion, money laundering, and a few other cases.
He also highlighted that the Binance CEO has been unwilling to appear after a series of "invitations" to brief the committee. An earlier hearing was scheduled on Deb 18, 2023.
Binance was recently accused by the Central Bank of Nigeria of allowing the flow of suspicious funds. The estimated quantum of funds was around $26 billion in 2023 as per Governor Olayemi Cardoso. It is to be noted that Nigeria has been undergoing a forex crisis for a while.
Binance has been in trouble for its alleged irregularities in compliance in multiple countries. Recently it agreed to pay a $4.3 billion fine to the US Department of Justice for allegedly operating without due approval. The executives from the US arm of the company were also made to exit the board which resulted in its founder being evicted from the post of Chairman.
A few countries where the exchange has landed in trouble in the recent past are listed below:
Nigerian users who have been using any crypto exchange for receiving cross-border payments, investments or to carry out routine transactions should move towards self-custody. There are multiple ways through which users can take full control of their crypto.
Most of these wallets also allow you to buy, sell, and stake your crypto directly from the wallet, allowing you to save on gas fees while earning a little extra money.
Hardware wallets are probably one of the safest ways of owning crypto. Even if you lose the wallet, you could still claim back your addresses by recovering your wallet with secret keyphrases.
Several hard wallets are available at a decent price. Some of the best hardware wallets in the industry are Legder, Ellipal, Trezor, and Safepal.
Software wallets are those that hold the private keys to your blockchain addresses inside them and exist on your desktop or mobile. These wallets are less secure but more convenient for frequent use.
Most of these wallets are available for free. Some of the best software wallets are MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Coinbase Wallet, Math Wallet, and Enjin Wallet.
Disclaimer: Voice of Crypto aims to deliver accurate and up-to-date information, but it will not be responsible for any missing facts or inaccurate information. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile financial assets, so research and make your own financial decisions.