- Nigerian users are barred from Binance airdrops.
- Binance is facing multiple criminal charges in Nigeria.
- A judge adjourned the $81 billion fine case until April 7.
Nigerian crypto users are annoyed about missing airdrops on Binance due to the government’s long-running dispute with the crypto exchange.
This week, Nigerians who tried to access Binance web3 questions, a platform to earn crypto giveaways, were hit with a notice that the service was no longer available.
“It’s a pity that for a crypto-loving country like Nigeria, our access to the industry is becoming severely limited as the days go by,” Chike Nnadi, a Nigerian crypto trader based in Lagos, told DL News.
Free crypto
Nnadi, a student of the University of Lagos, said airdrop grinding on Binance web3 quests was a major pastime among young crypto-savvy Nigerians.
Binance web3 quests allow users to earn free crypto giveaways for completing simple social tasks, such as following a project’s X account or referring friends.
Participants could earn up to $50 daily for completing the tasks.
“Imagine being able to earn such an amount of money in a county where most people are living below the poverty line and now to have that opportunity taken away, it’s frustrating,” Nnadi said.
Screenshots
Binance has over 380,000 active users in Nigeria. This week, several Nigerian crypto users contacted DL News with screenshots showing their inability to access the company’s crypto giveaway platform.
Nigerian crypto analyst Rume Ophi told DL News that crypto is still highly restricted in the country and is affecting adoption in Africa’s most-populous nation.
The access ban is the latest restriction by Binance on Nigerian users.
Last year, the exchange barred Nigerians from accessing its peer-to-peer trading platform and delisted a digital version of the naira, the country’s fiat currency.
Those actions came amid a bitter legal fight between Binance and Nigeria’s government after officials blamed the exchange for the devaluation of the naira.
Detention
The conflict resulted in the arrest and detention of two Binance executives.
Tigran Gambaryan, Binance’s US-based head of financial compliance and a former US special agent, spent eight months in detention before charges were dropped and he released.
Nigeria’s government also filed money laundering and tax evasion charges against Binance.
In February, the government approached the courts to levy an $81 billion fine against Binance for economic losses incurred by the state due to the company’s illegal operations in the country.
On Monday, Justice Inyang Ekwo adjourned the proceedings to April for a ruling over whether the matter would go to trial.
Osato Avan-Nomayo is our Nigeria-based DeFi correspondent. He covers DeFi and tech. Got a tip? please contact him at osato@dlnews.com.