Many traders of cryptocurrencies on Wednesday took to Twitter to vent their anger and grievances over what they described as the fraudulent activities they noticed on their wallets on the Binance platform.
Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange platform where digital currency holders can transact seamlessly in a peer-to-peer (P2P) pattern. It is one of the most famous and largest exchange platforms in the world in terms of the daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies.
However, many users of the platform, especially Nigerians and other Africans, alleged that they have been deprived of access to their wallets (account) without significant reasons. Some said they have experienced notable irregularities on their wallet which has made them lose a huge amount of their investment amidst the existing dip in the prices of cryptocurrencies.
“A Nigerian trader who had his entire assets on binance nearly comitetd suicide because of this. I have $400,000+ in my disabled account🤦💔.They’ve been targeting Nigerians and Africans as a whole. Please save us from Binance.#Binance #BinanceStopScamming #BinanceStealingCrypto,” a tweet by Cynthia Chidera read.
Another user, Ama Judy (@AmaJudy_) said: “It’s been 10 months now that Binance held my hard earned crypto, I have reached out to customer care severally, till now I have not been given any tangible reason for this act @binance @BinanceAfrica @cz_binance @BinanceHelpDesk #BinanceStopScamming #BinanceStealingCrypt.”
“This morning I tried logging in to my @binance account and I noticed my account has been disabled with my hard earned crypto in it, disabled with no prior notification. Is this not robbery?” she queried.
Also, another user, who identified himself as Charles, said: “Since last year 2021, Binance disabled my account with over 35,000$ .I’ve been communicating with them & they gave me an email to chat that doesn’t respond to mails for no tangible reason, my account got disabled.”
Many people tweeted with the hashtag #BinanceStealingCrypto and #BinanceStopScamming while some attached screenshots of controversial responses they received from the customer unit of the platform. The many comments on the topic caused
#BinanceStopScamming to be the number one trending topic on Nigerian Twittersphere Wednesday.
For instance, a user of the platform who complained that his account was illegally disabled said he got a response that reads: “We would like to take the opportunity to remind you that by accessing Binance Services, you agree that Binance has the right to freeze your account without your consent or prior notice as per the Terms of Use.”
In a similar message, another user of the platform tweeting with the username @JoshuaNwogodo, after complaining about the irregularities he noticed on his Binance P2P transaction, said he got a response from the Binance customer unit that reads: “Your account has been suspended permanently after careful reviewing from our team, the decision is final and cannot be changed. The funds will be blocked along with the suspension. Repeatedly engaging the matter of your account being suspended might lead to your chat being terminated. Thank you.”
Mr Nwogodo in another tweet said:”@cz_binance @binance @BinanceAfrica you have illegally locked and denied me access to my account for over 6 months and your reasons for locking my account don’t add up at all. Please unlock my account or Nigerians will stop using binance. #boycottbinance #binancestopscamming.”
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Regulatory Challenges
In the past two to four years, the platform (Binance) has been struggling with regulatory challenges, causing the company to change its base from several countries as a crackdown on cryptocurrencies by many central banks continued.
Binance was yet to respond to the allegations on Twitter as of the time of this report.
However, Iniobong Williams, a cryptocurrency analyst in Abuja, said Binance is going through a lot of regulatory roadblocks, and that several countries around the world have asked Binance not to provide services to their citizens.
“So in a bid to be compliant, Binance issued a statement that users would not be allowed to use their platforms until they are verified,” he said.
Mr Williams explained that before now, all users needed was an email to be able to access their wallets and other services on the platform.
“Because they are trying to be more compliant to their regulatory bodies all over the world, they said users must provide a valid means of identification and also go through an official procedure of verifications,” he said.
With the new policy, said Mr Williams, who runs a crypto masterclass in Abuja, a lot of people that have multiple accounts on Binance were affected as the firm no longer allows one user to have multiple accounts.
READ ALSO: UK regulator bans crypto exchange group Binance
“So right now you have to be verified to access their services. So there have been a lot of complaints from people with large accounts who have not been verified. I believe that once they are done with the verification process, their accounts would be lifted,” he said.
Moving Elsewhere
While this subsists, holders of cryptocurrencies on the platform are already struggling to move their digital coins elsewhere.
“I no do again for now. My heart can’t be jumping around because of crypto,” said Benkingsley Nwashara(@benking452), after he successfully withdrew from the platform.
Another user, Olamide, said: “Just withdrew my digital asset from the useless platform.. All Africans should do the same. .#Binance #BinanceStopScamming.”
