Aminu Gwadabe, the President of the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators (BDC) of Nigeria (ABCON), has called on the federal government to halt the operations of the cryptocurrency exchange firm Binance in Nigeria.
Gwadabe stressed the critical necessity of this action to strengthen the national currency, the naira.
In an interview conducted in Lagos on Tuesday, Gwadabe expressed his concerns to the media.
Furthermore, Gwadabe emphasized that Binance’s activities were placing undue pressure on the naira, making it absolutely crucial to curtail its operations.
He specifically pointed out that Binance’s trading activities were currently playing a pivotal role in both the investor and exporter windows, as well as the parallel market, which is resulting in an unfortunate situation.
In his statements, Gwadabe declared, “Binance trading has effectively become the cornerstone of both the investor and exporter windows and the parallel market, a fact that is indeed regrettable.”
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From his perspective, a strategic intervention is necessary to halt Binance’s operations, and he cited the need to foster competitiveness.
Gwadabe firmly asserted that by boosting local resources and leveraging unique market dynamics, it could be possible to counteract the dominance of Binance’s highly liquid trading.
Expanding on this, he remarked, “Presently, Binance represents the most liquid market, processing approximately 1.2 million transactions per second.
While this underscores its robust liquidity, it is not an insurmountable challenge.
We possess the means to disrupt this dominance by harnessing our indigenous capabilities and market idiosyncrasies.”
Additionally, Gwadabe further highlighted the strain the naira is currently under due to various factors, some of which have been inherited by the current administration.
He drew attention to foreign exchange hoarding by financial institutions and oil companies, along with activities such as citizens paying school fees abroad, engaging in roundtripping, and displaying speculative behaviors.
All of these factors collectively contribute to the mounting pressure on the national currency.
Elaborating on this, he stated,
“The naira is enduring substantial stress arising from foreign exchange hoarding among banks and oil corporations.
Moreover, factors such as individuals engaging in practices like paying school fees abroad, participating in roundtripping, and displaying speculative behaviors have collectively compounded the strain on the naira.”
