Some experts have disagreed with Yemi Cardoso, CBN, governor on his claim that cryptocurrency traders are not known, insisting that all traders and even other digital operators are known as soon as they hook on to the site. This is even as a federal High Court in Abuja last week ordered Binace Holdings Limited to provide the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with the comprehensive data or information of all Nigerians trading on its platform. Justice Emeka Nwite made the order after ruling on the ex-parte motion moved by EFCC However, a trained crypto investigator Obinna Iwuno says traders on cryptocurrency trading website Binance are not anonymous as they can be traced.
Similarly, Gbenga Essan, executive director, Paradigm Initiative said even the perpetrators of the current data breach in Nigeria can be fished out, urging government and the relevant agencies to be responsible and accountable. Iwuno, who is the President of the Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria, was a guest on Channels Television breakfast show, The Morning Brief on Tuesday He was addressing a claim by CBN, Olayemi Cardoso that $26bn suspi- cious flows passed through Binance last year. “The CBN governor said $26bn is unidentified but what he has not told us is how they arrived at the $26bn because that is the only basis that I will fault or right the CBN,” Iwuno said. “I am a certified crypto- currency investigator.
I am also a certified cryptocurrency compliance specialist. I can tell you that these things are traceable. You cannot perform a transaction, as long as it passes through the blockchain, that cannot be traced. “If you use a centralised exchange like Binance, it is finished because you can- not be on those platform without your identity be- ing known.” He said most crypto platforms use Bank Verification Number (BVN) and driver’s license as know-your-customer verification measures. He insisted that there was no how a trader will be on Binance and cannot be traced, adding that the Interpol and other security agencies had in the past cracked down on bad actors in the blockchain technology value chain.
The trained crypto investigator also said the Federal Government has failed to regulate virtual asset services in the country; hence, there is no regulation that binds Binance to Nigeria, which has one of the company’s biggest traders. “Binance is not licensed to operate in Nigeria. Nigeria did not regulate virtual asset services and providers and this is what we have been calling for, for years. Because of that, there is no regulation that made them binding to us. If there was regulation in the country, Binance will be a member of SiBAN,” he said.