Changpeng Zhao pens a letter to the Nigerian Binance community, assuring them of the platform’s commitment to user protection.
The recent outrage of Nigerian Binance users across social media over access restriction to their accounts has drawn the attention of the exchange’s CEO. Changpeng Zhao reacted to the concerns raised through a letter in which he praised the community while also re-emphasizing his commitment to them.
User Protection The Major Reseason For Access Restriction
In his letter, Changpeng Zhao reiterated that the protection of the community and prevention of fraud were the main reasons for the access restrictions. He further highlighted the exchanges deployment of several protective mechanisms to assure the community’s safety. These measures include Know Your Customer (KYC), anti-money Laundry measures, collaboration with law enforcement and account restrictions. He said,
“As such, protection mechanisms such as KYC, anti-money laundering measures, collaboration with law enforcement, and account restrictions are in place to ensure our community remains protected and that fraudulent activity is prevented.”
Furthermore, Zhao apologised for the inconvenience caused by delays in resolving customer support requests and assured that more personnel would be devoted to the region. He also promised a speedy resolution to ongoing user cases promising that all non-law enforcement restrictions would be resolved in a fortnight. These measures, he believes, would help rebuild the trust of the community in the exchange.
A breakdown of the numbers from his letter reveals that 281 Nigerian accounts were restricted. 38% of these accounts were restricted at the request of international law enforcement.
Binance Secure Asset Fund Now Valued At $1Billion
Binance also announced yesterday that it had updated its Secure Asset Fund for User (SAFU) with a new valuation of $1 billion. Binance created this emergency insurance fund in July 2018 to defend its users’ interests. The world’s largest crypto exchange pledged a proportion (10%) of all trading fees to build it to a considerable size and protect users’ interests.
The platform has urged other centralised exchanges to publish their insurance fund wallet addresses, as this will benefit the entire ecosystem. This is believed to demonstrate exchanges’ commitment to trust, integrity, and transparency in the crypto ecosystem to governments, regulators, and key stakeholders.
Binance users can view the Secure Asset Fund wallets on wallet address 1 and wallet address 2.
Do you think all centralised exchanges should follow Binance lead and publish their emergency insurance fund? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Kingsley is a fintech writer with over 4 years of experience covering blockchain and cryptocurrency news. Alo first discovered Bitcoin in 2016 and has been passionate about it ever since, particularly the various ways blockchain can help Africa and the world at large. He desires to give the crypto space a more geographically balanced narrative and serve as a bridge between Africa and the rest of the world. His articles have been featured in Cointelegraph, Beincrypto, and Forkast.news, among others.
