Binance faces uncertainty over Nigerian money laundering charges, here’s what to expect

Binance, one of the largest crypto exchange platforms by volume, is currently facing uncertainty in a lawsuit in Nigeria. The exchange faces money laundering charges and is accused of manipulating the exchange rate. 

The Nigerian court postponed its decision in the lawsuit until October 11. In the meanwhile, Binance battles regulatory pressures, and global compliance issues. 

The court decision in the Binance case could affect how the exchange approaches markets with regulatory uncertainty, in line with the comments made by co-founder He Yi, in a recent interview. 

The developments could affect Binance’s user acquisition and native token Binance Coin (BNB). The court case could determine Binance’s future as an exchange and crypto services provider in Nigeria. 

Binance battles US SEC and Nigerian government in the court

The legal battle with the Nigerian government could have lasting implications for Binance as it draws international attention. US Congressmen urged the American Embassy in Nigeria to advocate for Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan’s release on humanitarian grounds. Arkansas Republican representative French Hill led the plea to urge lawmakers to intervene and support Gambaryan’s release. 

Binance is battling the charges, which include four counts of tax evasion and money laundering. The Nigerian Government holds Binance responsible for the local currency crisis. According to the allegations, Naira was already in a state of deterioration and Binance emerged as a top choice for traders and resulted in currency manipulation, negatively impacting their local currency. 

Binance is faced with legal and regulatory pressures worldwide. While the exchange defends against the allegations in Nigeria, it faces the SEC’s lawsuit alleging violation of US securities laws. 

What’s next for Binance, silver lining?

In a recent interview with asian journalist Colin Wu, Binance co-founder and Changpeng Zhao’s partner He Yi said Binance could invest in more companies and foster innovation in crypto. Binance added a new business, the Square, in 2023. 

The Square is focused on attracting users who are not very keen on crypto to experience the space and gradually shift towards crypto investments. While Binance’s stablecoin business faces regulatory hurdles and costs, He Yi says the focus is on web3 wallets. 

He Yi is quoted as saying:

Competitors have performed well with external storage wallets, but everyone has a different understanding of Web3 wallets. Many peers consider them as a backup plan (Plan B) for exchanges, allowing transactions without KYC and AML when exchange businesses are affected by regulation. However, we believe Web3 wallets as a Plan B still cannot avoid regulation. Therefore, we hope to make Web3 wallets a long-tail business, covering on-chain services that existing exchange users cannot access, such as staking and on-chain transactions.

Binance looks at web3 wallets as a viable business opportunity and could continue to onboard the next generation of crypto traders through the same. 

He Yi stressed the importance of crypto regulation and weighed its long-term implications on Binance and the associated cost and speed bottlenecks, in rolling out newer and effective business models and products. 

BNB hovers around $570, erases 1% value on the day

Binance’s native token BNB trades at $568.70 at the time of writing, erasing 1% of its value, early on Wednesday. The token could extend its gains by 10.31% and rally towards the lower boundary of the Fair Value Gap (FVG) formed between June 9 low of $670.30 and June 11 high of $629.

The momentum indicator, Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) shows there is underlying positive momentum in Binance Coin’s price trend. 

BNB faces resistance at $588.30, the 50% Fibonacci retracement of the decline from the June 6 top of $721.80 to the July 5 low of $454.80.

BNB/USDT daily chart 

BNB could find support at the FVGs formed between July 13 and July 15 ($539.40 and $543.80) and July 14 and July 16 at ($547.70 and $554.40) as seen in the chart above. Once BNB sweeps liquidity at the FVGs, it could extend gains further.