Why has Binance restricted the crypto accounts of 281 Nigerians?

<p>Binance, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has explained why it has restricted the accounts of 281 Nigerian users.</p> <p>Changpeng Zhao, the company's Chief Executive Officer, stated in a letter that 38 percent of the affected accounts had been restricted at the request of international law enforcement.</p> <p>Multiple users of the Binance global exchange had expressed their dissatisfaction on social media.</p> <p>Some Nigerian users complained that they couldn't access their accounts for no apparent reason from the exchange.</p> <p>With over 25,000 tweets on Wednesday, #BinanceStopScamming was the third trending topic on Nigerian Twitter. On Thursday, the trend continued with over 10,000 tweets.</p> <p>Zhao hinted in his response, titled 'A letter from our CEO to Nigerians: Our commitment to user protection,' dated Saturday, January 29, that some of the accounts had been restricted to prevent fraud-related activities.</p> <p>"The Nigerian community is one that gives me great pride," the letter stated. Nigeria and Africa in general have been very special markets to us and to crypto since the inception of Binance. After hearing the community's concerns, I decided to write to reaffirm our commitment to you.</p> <p>First and foremost, we apologise for any inconvenience caused by the delays in responding to your customer support requests. Our top priority continues to be user security. We care deeply about our Nigerian community, but we must also ensure the safety of our users. As a result, safeguards such as KYC, anti-money laundering measures, collaboration with law enforcement, and account restrictions are in place to protect our community and prevent fraudulent activity. This is a global strategy that is being implemented in every country.</p> <p>"These personal account restrictions have affected 281 Nigerian accounts, with approximately 38% of these cases restricted at the request of international law enforcement."</p> <p>"Regardless, we owe it to you, our users, to provide you wi