Exchange platform Coinbase remains accessible in Nigeria despite reports to the contrary, as renewed calls for a crypto ban in the country have intensified, a spokesperson for the exchange confirmed to CoinDesk on Thursday.
Multiple local outlets and the Financial Times have reported local telecommunications companies have been asked by the government to block several platforms, including Binance, Coinbase and Kraken – and that they have acted on it.
“We are continuing to investigate these reports, but based on an initial investigation, it appears that Coinbase.com remains accessible from Nigeria,” the spokesperson for Coinbase said in an email.
Crypto exchange platforms like Binance have been “blatantly setting exchange rate for Nigeria,” hijacking the role of the country’s central bank, said Bayo Onanuga, an advisor to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, in a Wednesday post on X.
Onanuga called for other firms – such as Kucoin and Bybit – should also “be banned from operating in our cyberspace.”
This is not the first time Nigeria has come after crypto. Service providers were restricted from accessing banking services locally by the Central Bank of Nigeria – a move it recently overturned. The country has remained a strong adopter of cryptocurrency, particularly for remittances.