Nigeria Begins Talks With Binance; Planning Economic Diversity Through Blockchain Technology

In a bid to diversify the economy which over the years depended solely on crude oil, the Federal Government of Nigeria is currently in talks with the cryptographic giant, Binance to expand it’s economic scope through the Blockchain technology.

Bloomberg reports that, Nigerian authorities and cryptocurrencies investment and exchange platform, Binance Holdings Ltd. are in converses aiming at establishing a digital financial hub that will assist young entrepreneurs to fast track the blockchain technology in the West African country.

Despite the government’s strict regulations on crypto trading within the country, Nigeria Exchange Ltd. has concluded arrangement to establish a Blockchain-enabled platform early next year to deepen trade at the bourse.

The report specifically says, “Federal Government is targeting digital technology as a means to help diversify the economy away from crude oil, taking advantage of an increasingly connected and youthful population. Fintech startups such as Interswitch Ltd. and Flutterwave Inc. has emerged in the space and achieved billion-dollar plus valuations.”

The Present Buhari lead administration has expressed readiness to diversify the economy from crude oil. The Minister of Communication and Digital Economy Honourable Isa Ali Pantami affirmed that “efforts to diversify the Nigeria economy and make it digitally compliance have started yielding the desired results with over 2, 600 direct jobs created within the past one year and about two billion naira earned by Data Protection Compliance Organisations (DPCOs).”

In case you are not aware

• Binance is an online exchange where users can trade cryptocurrencies. It supports most commonly traded cryptocurrencies. Binance provides a crypto wallet for traders to store their electronic funds. The exchange also has supporting services for users to earn interest or transact using cryptocurrencies.

• Binance charges a 0.10% fee for trading on the platform as well as a 0.50% fee for Instant Buy/Sell, so your actual fee amount will depend on the amount of the trade. The higher the transaction, the higher the fee.

• The Central Bank of Nigeria issued a circular on the 5th of February 2017, restricting commercial banks from allowing customers operate bank accounts that transact in cryptocurrencies. The circular was reissued in 2020 with strict compliance order.