Omobola Oduntan, a crypto and blockchain educator, stated that Nigerian crypto users are being scammed through Bybit's peer-to-peer (P2P) services. He supports the return of Binance P2P to Nigeria, citing Binance's active and responsive customer service team. Oduntan shared his statement in an August 6 post on X.
"People in my DM asking me to talk about @Bybit_Official P2P services and how people are being scammed, well you same people were the ones celebrating when @binance P2P stopped working in Nigeria," said Oduntan. "Your thoughts were, that we need Nigerian P2P services to operate, it has been a while now since Binance P2P stopped working. On till people understand that Binance P2P is the best not because of hype but because of the customer service and opportunities to get a response when things or issues arise. Support @binance P2P back in Nigeria."
According to a Medium post authored by a crypto enthusiast, Bybit users have reported encountering scams while using the exchange's P2P services. The users say that Bybit's customer support team has not been responsive. "Imagine this: You’ve found what you think is a reputable merchant on Bybit’s P2P platform," the post said. "You make your transaction, only to find out that the merchant is a scammer. You reach out to customer support, hoping for a quick resolution, but instead, you’re met with silence or unhelpful responses."
Bybit is withdrawing from France this month due to regulatory issues, CoinDesk reported. France's financial regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), blacklisted Bybit in 2022 and issued a reminder in May this year that Bybit remains blacklisted. Bybit does not have the digital asset service provider license required to operate in France.
Binance delisted all naira trading pairs from its P2P services on February 28, according to a post on the company's website. The exchange discontinued all other naira services by March 8.
Many Nigerian citizens turned to cryptocurrency to protect their money from inflation, according to commentary authored by Nicholas Anthony of the Cato Institute. As the naira became severely devalued, Anthony said that the Nigerian government "is looking for anything other than its own actions to blame." He added, "In doing so, the government has somehow named Binance as the culprit for the naira’s crash." The Nigerian government detained Binance employee Tigran Gambaryan on February 26. Anthony noted that "this behavior by Nigerian officials is unfortunately all too common among government officials around the world," adding that "rather than creating money that people choose to run to, governments often look to instead create restrictions that trap people with money they wouldn’t otherwise use."
Oduntan is described as a "professional crypto coach" who engages in blockchain and crypto education, according to LinkedIn. He has partnered with charitable nongovernmental organizations to share digital asset education.
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