Since stepping in as Binance CEO, Richard Teng (who replaced former CEO Changpeng Zhao), has reportedly made it a priority to ensure and maintain the user-focused principles of Binance across the company, with the primary emphasis being on ensuring stability.

According to Richard Teng, in this sense, no radical reforms were needed, as in many ways their organization had already been set on the right course.

Teng noted in a blog post that Binances user-focused approach continues to be the driving force behind consumers trust in their company and the corresponding growth of their user base, with more than 178 million registered users as of today.

Moreover, since their unprecedented settlement with US regulators, Teng claims that the firm continues to demonstrate a strong financial performance.

Data from DefiLlama reveals that Binance recorded net inflows of over $3 billion between late November and late February, outpacing what their biggest competitors took in over the same period.

In January of 2024, the Binance platform pulled in the largest estimated inflow since at least November 2022.

Teng writes in an extensive update that Binance has favorable external conditions to thank the approval of spot BTC exchange-traded products in the United States has contributed to the crypto markets strong momentum but even against this backdrop, Binances excellent performance over the past 3 months stands out conspicuously.

Teng added that during his first 100 days as CEO, they rolled out a number of exciting features for both retail and institutional users.

Continuing to focus on simplifying access to the world of Web3, Binance has introduced an array of new features to the Binance Web3 Wallet.

This includes support of new chains, enhanced swap options, and access to more DEXs and bridges.

They also launched the Binance Inscriptions Marketplace, integrated with their Web3 wallet, to offer the crypto community a user-friendly way to trade and mint a range of inscription tokens.

Further doubling down on making crypto trading more social, they reportedly made improvements to Binances copy trading functionalities, specifically, introducing the Mock Copy Trading feature.

This educational tool lets users practice and learn using virtual test funds in a risk-free environment.

On the institutional side, Binance has successfully initiated and executed the first-of-its-kind banking tri-party arrangement in the crypto industry, where an institutional investors trading collateral is held in fiat with a third-party banking partner.

This is an innovative risk management solution that addresses counterparty risks, which institutional investors in the industry take extremely seriously. Replicating a framework common in traditional financial markets, it allows investors to better manage risk and scale their crypto-asset allocation.

They also made strides in institutional lending business, and are increasing their ability to source and provide liquidity for fixed-duration loans.

As the digital-asset space welcomes more and more institutional investors, including those that are new to this asset class, Binances goal remains to facilitate their onboarding and offer the range and quality of services that would make them stick around for the long haul.

As stated in the update from the new Binance CEO:

While many of the earliest crypto adherents were decidedly anti-regulation, as the industry has grown, its important to acknowledge that regulation is an indispensable part of the lifecycle of all innovative sectors. The foundation of a robust regulatory framework must be built on basic principles of maximizing protections for users while fostering a safe and sustainable ecosystem that can grow responsibly. I believe that users are the ultimate beneficiaries of the hard regulatory compliance work that we do as they get to enjoy the security and stability of a well-regulated digital-asset ecosystem.

As stated in the update from Richard Teng:

Over the past three months, we have made significant headway in negotiating licenses and authorizations. We also furthered dialogue with regulators and industry stakeholders around the world to bolster cooperation and coordination on the pathway of the crypto industrys sustainable growth. One of the results this work yielded was that, in January, Gulf Binance an exchange and brokerage platform in Thailand, the joint venture between Binance and Gulf Innova successfully launched its full operations, extending access to digital assets to potentially millions of Thai crypto users and crypto-curious.

See the original post:

Binance Reports Net Inflows Of $3B+ Between Late Nov 2023 And Late Feb 2024, Claims It Outpaced Competitors - Crowdfund Insider

On December 22, 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria reversed what can be described as a ban on crypto that took effect on February 5, 2021.

In an ironic turn of events, the CBN chose the same month in 2024 to launch another clampdown on crypto.

This clampdown started on February 20, 2024, when Binances P2P feature had no buy or sell ads. This meant people who wanted to buy dollar-denominated stablecoin, USDT could not.

I thought this was just a scarcity of USDT as merchants Id spoken with a few months ago said people were starting to hoard the stablecoins. They didnt know why but their best guess was that more people were starting to save USDT as the naira is in a free fall.

While it's true people save in USDT it wasnt the reason why Binance didnt allow people to post buy and sell orders on its P2P platform.

A statement from the worlds largest exchange said it noticed a "temporary suppression that reached its system limit and automatically stopped people from conducting USDT trade," and that it was working with Nigerian authorities to be compliant.

However, the stories that followed after that proved that a war had been launched on crypto in the country.

Techpoint Africa was the first to report that there was a plan to restrict access to crypto websites in the country through telcos. A few hours after that report, Binance.com was no longer accessible on MTN and Airtel mobile networks.

More crypto sites such as Kraken, Quidax, and Coinbase were also restricted and remained unreachable as of press time.

Join 30,000 subscribers who receive Techpoint Digest, a fun week-daily 5-minute roundup of happenings in African and global tech, directly in your inbox, hours before everyone else.

Binance has, however, been the main target of authorities. The Office of the National Security Adviser confirmed an investigation into the company and slammed a $10 billion fine on it the same day although the government denies this because the platform has profited from illegal transactions in the country.

The creation of the P2P feature on crypto exchanges was a response to the CBN circular of February 4 2021 that stopped banks from facilitating crypto-related transactions. Before that circular, you could buy crypto directly from exchanges with a debit card.

After the circular, people needed to buy crypto from other people.

Exchanges like Binance created a feature a crypto marketplace that brought crypto buyers and sellers together. Binance served as a middleman between both parties, offering an escrow service to make sure no one got scammed.

A source from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) told Premium Times that Binance P2P is giving the dollar a fake value against the naira, describing the process as a sophisticated heist against the Nigerian economy.

An executive at the CBN also told the publication that Binance is being used as a "benchmark for currency trading, misleadingly devaluing the Naira in global markets."

However, Ayasi Emmanuel, a crypto trader and influencer said The P2P market is all about demand and supply, the merchants work like the BDC, they work with the rate of the parallel market.

However, CBN Governor Yemi Cardoso revealed that $26 billion passed through Binance in 2023 alone, saying it was from sources that cannot be adequately identified.

Adebayo Juwon, Co-founder, of Finna Protocol, however, disputed the figures revealed by the CBN governor, questioning how they were gotten.

How was it calculated? Is it outflow or inflow? 90% of P2P trade is two Nigerians trading between themselves, he said.

Binance is also known to have strict KYC protocols that mandate users to reveal their identities.

Juwon who used to work at now-defunct crypto exchange FTX, said Nigeria's crypto user base surpasses South Africa's, yet its trading volume remains lower. Even Seychelles, an island nation, boasts more institutional trading volume than Nigeria's entire retail sector.

The clampdown on crypto exchanges will not stop P2P trading, Juwon said. He revealed that a large volume of P2P takes place on WhatsApp and not even Binance.

P2P merchants who spoke to Techpoint Africa confirmed this. A good number of them said they trade volumes of over $1 million in a day some of the biggest do above $5 million.

Besides WhatsApp, platforms like Telegram, Bybit and KuCoin also offer P2P services giving traders several options to choose from. Even Juwons platform, Finna Protocol gives the option of borrowing naira against your stablecoins without selling them.

But while these options wont stop P2P trade, they will open many Nigerians to scams. Unlike Binance which provides a secure space for buyers and sellers to transact, WhatsApp does not have the same safety features.

This is why Juwon said that while the CBN means well, it took the wrong approach.They should make Binance a friend and not an enemy.

To Juwon, making Binance a friend meant that Nigeria would be able to make money from the exchange while also getting the information it needed. However, the consequences of the approach taken by the CBN will not only result in more crypto scams. Juwom also believes it will also negatively impact foreign investment.

Major exchanges in the country have stopped the sale of USDT and USDC which could affect their user base and bottom line.

Although a majority of people in the crypto community believe Binance isnt responsible for the naira's free fall, the exchange hasnt had a very good rep in other countries.

In the US for example, it has to pay a $4.3 billion fine for several charges. The investigations leading to the hefty fine showed that the exchange was aware that it was being used by criminal organisations.

Such a track record could warrant an investigation, but the approach like Juwon said, may cause more harm than good.

Originally posted here:

Binance P2P and the naira free fall - Techpoint Africa

This story from Associated Press quipped me. Its as if our American friends dont get how we love snails. Check out this story;

Diners with an appetite for giant African snails in California will have to find another batch of the prohibited animals to snack on, after U.S. Customs and Border protection inspectors at the Los Angeles International Airport seized 67 of the live guys, which were destined for someone in San Dimas (otherwise known as the home of Bill and Ted).

In another episode of Crazy Things You Cant Fly Into America, Silly, someone in Nigeria sent the mollusks to the U.S., a customs spokeswoman said. The snails are some of the largest land snails in the world and can grow up to 8 inches long, theAssociated Pressreports.

But while theyre a delicacy in West African countries costing up to $50 for a party of six theyre an illegal species here because they could carry parasites that are harmful to humans. Theyre also bad for our wildlife, says the CBP program manager for agriculture.

These snails are seriously harmful to local plants because they will eat any kind of crop they can get to, she said.

As such, the 67 snails were incinerated. Its still unclear why one person would want so many snails, the program manager adds.

Were investigating what happened but it doesnt seem like there was smuggling involved. When someone doesnt know a commodity is prohibited under USDA regulations there is usually no punishment, she said.

Consumerist

Read the original here:

Forex Crisis: $26 billion passed through Binance Nigeria in one year- Cardoso - Nairametrics

The arrest marks an escalation in Africas largest economys new war on crypto.

In December, the central bank seemed ready to welcome crypto platforms into the financial system. It canceled a three-year order that barred banks from enabling crypto trades, laying the groundwork for a new license that companies started preparing to apply for. But Cardoso a former Citigroup banker appointed to the central bank in September has reverted to the view, held by his predecessor Godwin Emefiele, that crypto trading seriously undermines currency stability.

Nigeria faces soaring inflation at nearly 30% and a restive public bemoaning the rising cost of food and transportation. The central bank has pushed a flurry of tools targeting exchange rate and price stability in recent weeks. At the same time, government officials have put a lot of blame on companies like Binance, pointing to naira for USDT trades as encouraging undue demand for the dollar and undermining policymakers efforts.

Currency traders told us they were acting on Binances rates, one government official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Semafor Africa. The official suggested that a move against Binance became necessary after the central banks attempt to close the gap between official and black market foreign exchange rates weakened after brief success.

Crypto transactions in Nigeria in the 12 months up to June 2023 were worth $57 billion, according to data firm Chainalysis. Beyond inflations role in making it an attractive hedge, Nigerians adopted crypto for personal and business-related cross-border transactions, users say.

This weeks regulatory offensive may cool those trends judging by crypto exchanges quick retreat, though intrepid users will find other means to keep trading crypto, like using virtual private network (VPN) apps to bypass blockades. Nigeria, which has experienced exits of multiple multinationals citing inflation and currency depreciation problems, could be giving foreign investors another reason to seek other markets.

We are not China or India, where the markets are so large that most global companies will suck up whatever misbehavior their government does and find a way to make a deal, said Cheta Nwanze, head of geopolitical analysis firm SBM Intelligence in Lagos. A crypto crackdown approach involving arrests is a lose lose situation for us, he said.

It would be more useful for Nigeria to address the factors weakening the currency rather than focus on symptoms, said John Ashbourne, an emerging markets economist at Fitch Solutions in London. The real cause of the depreciation is that more and more Nigerians are losing faith in the naira and prefer to keep their money in really any other currency, even a famously volatile crypto unit, Ashbourne told Semafor Africa.

Here is the original post:

Arrest of Binance executives shakes up Nigerias crypto ecosystem, again - Semafor