2024-04-15
Investors in Nigeria are growing increasingly concerned about the potential consequences they may face when investing in local Web3 companies.
This unease stems from the recent actions taken against Binance employees, which have led to investors withdrawing from deals and partnerships within the web3 sector.
Lucky Uwakwe, the chairman of Nigeria's Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee (BICCoN), highlights Nigeria's perceived lack of business safety and government hostility as major factors contributing to these concerns.
Uwakwe, who heads Nigeria's intercommunity working group involving the Blockchain Nigeria User Group (BNUG), Cryptography Development Initiative of Nigeria (CDIN), and Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SiBAN), expressed these worries in an interview with Blocksky.
According to Uwakwe, investors fear facing similar repercussions as Binance did, which has led to a gradual divestment among those who have already invested.
The Binance case serves as evidence of the government's approach adversely impacting the entire nation.
By imposing fines on Binance, the government is essentially undermining the growth of the entire industry in favor of short-term measures.
The Binance employees, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, were detained and charged with money laundering after allegations of manipulating Nigeria's fiat currency, the naira.
Uwakwe expressed skepticism about the possibility of an acquittal for the employees, stating that the government holds the upper hand unless certain internal conditions are met by Binance.
Even if the executives are acquitted by the judge, Uwakwe believes there is a strong likelihood that the Nigerian government may disregard the court ruling, as observed in previous cases that were perceived to threaten the country's stability.
Addressing the international community's question of why the Nigerian crypto community is not advocating more vigorously for the release of the Binance employees, Uwakwe suggests that if Binance had engaged with relevant associations earlier, they would have garnered support from pressure groups and lobbying efforts.
The Nigerian government has had a contentious relationship with cryptocurrency exchanges, and its criticism of crypto exchanges led Binance to cease operations using the naira in March.
Nigeria's crypto obsession has been evident, with the country ranking as the most crypto-obsessed nation based on Google searches for "cryptocurrency" or "buy crypto."
