The CEO of prominent cryptocurrency platform Binance, Richard Teng, unveiled in a blog post on Tuesday that undisclosed individuals in Nigeria sought substantial payments in digital currency to resolve the company’s challenges in the country.

The revelation comes in the wake of the detention of two senior Binance executives by the Nigerian government on February 28. Nadeem Anjarwalla and Tigran Gambaryan were held as part of an investigation into alleged illegal operations and forex rate manipulations.

Teng detailed Binance’s efforts to engage with Nigerian authorities, citing a meeting in Abuja on January 8, where the company faced criminal accusations.

He said that despite repeated requests, Binance did not receive specifics of the allegations, prompting concerns about the fairness of the process.

Teng said, “There were a number of reasons for that, including the sensitivity of the information and getting the opportunity to see the allegations in full and prepare a thorough substantive response.”

“The meeting ended with the Chair confirming they would consider the matter and revert through Binance’s local counsel.

“However, as our employees were leaving the venue, they were approached by unknown persons who suggested to them to make a payment in settlement of the allegations.

“Later that day, our local counsel — representing us at that time — was summoned by the Committee through someone purporting to be their agent, who relayed the Committee’s terms and instructed our local counsel to advise us.

“Counsel reported back that he had been presented with a demand for a significant payment in cryptocurrency to be paid in secret within 48 hours to make these issues go away and that our decision was expected by the morning.

“Our team grew increasingly concerned about their safety in Nigeria and immediately departed.”

The Binance CEO however revealed that the request for payment was declined because it was not seen to be a “legitimate settlement offer”.

According to Teng, Binance made it clear that it would only negotiate a settlement after viewing the pertinent petition or the specifics of all the accusations. Any settlement “must be official, recorded in writing, and signed by all relevant parties,” he added.

Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi

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Bernstein analysts are confident that is on its way to $150,000 per coin by mid-2025 despite recent market corrections, the broker said in a research report on Tuesday.

The firm cites a shift from sentiment-driven to structurally-driven demand in Bitcoin markets, led by institutional interest and inflows into ETFs. As Bitcoin resumed its upward trajectory after dipping to a low of around $57,000, Bernstein noted the clearing of excess leverage in futures contracts and a positive reversal in ETF outflows. 

A major highlight was the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC) (NYSE:) reporting its first inflow after 78 consecutive days of outflows, a milestone given its impact on market dynamics.

“Bitcoin’s current position at around $64,000 is just the beginning. The structure of the market is far stronger than during the 2021 euphoria at similar levels, largely driven by clear ETF-driven demand,” the report reads.

The bullish outlook is further supported by the sheer volume of cash flooding into Bitcoin ETFs, amassing nearly $12 billion within just three months of their launch. Bernstein expects this trend to persist, driven by increased allocations from private banks, wealth managers, and institutional investors, projecting around $70 billion in new inflows between 2024 and 2025.

The report also points to favorable regulatory developments and corporate adoption, citing companies like Block integrating Bitcoin into their treasury strategies. Moreover, the stability in Bitcoin’s hash rate post-halving and healthy miner transaction fees indicate a resilient mining sector poised for long-term market growth.

Bernstein expects that higher Bitcoin prices and transaction fees will offer miners a buffer even if production costs double post-halving.

Mining stocks have lagged behind the Bitcoin rally due to investors favoring a “long Bitcoin, short miners” strategy. The rationale behind this approach is the perceived safety in buying spot ETFs compared to mining stocks, which are susceptible to risks associated with the halving.

“Bitcoin mining dynamics are also supporting the market, with public miners expanding capacity and negotiating favorable terms amidst competitive pressures from AI capital expenditures,” Bernstein added.

With all these factors in place, Bernstein remains confident in their $150K Bitcoin target, viewing current prices as an attractive risk-reward opportunity for investors. The firm believes we are in the early stages of a longer and healthier Bitcoin cycle that could extend well into 2025.

As of 12:14 p.m., Bitcoin was trading 1% lower at $63,649, while Ethereum experienced a 3.5% drop to $3,068. Additionally, altcoins like BNB (-1.1%), Dogecoin (-4.9%), Toncoin (2.6%), Cardano (3.3%), Avalanche (-3.1%), and Shiba Inu (-5.2%) followed suit in the downward trend.

The crypto market sentiment was further impacted by news of significant transfers from FTX-associated addresses and a Wells Notice issued to Robinhood by the SEC, alleging unauthorized digital asset trading categorized as securities.

CoinDCX Research Team noted, “In the short term, both BTC and ETH show bearish price action, though the higher time frame remains bullish. BTC needs to reclaim the $67,000 level, while ETH must surpass $3,250 to regain momentum.”Also Read: Grayscale Bitcoin Trust’s shares jump after first inflow since JanuaryStablecoins accounted for $69.86 billion in volume, representing 91.12% of the total crypto market’s 24-hour volume, according to CoinMarketCap.Within the same timeframe, Bitcoin’s market cap rose to $1.253 trillion, with BTC volume surging by 67.8% to $30.57 billion.Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Giottus, analyzed Bitcoin’s technicals, stating, “Bitcoin, after breaching $65,000 briefly, is consolidating above $63,500 today. The asset has found strong support at the 0.5 fib extension ($60,700), aligned with its 100-day MA at $60,850. Its RSI levels continue to improve towards a neutral territory. Bitcoin can consolidate at these levels for a few more days before it holds $65,000 and turns bullish.”

Regarding Cardano, Rajagopal Menon, Vice President at WazirX, remarked, “Cardano is looking at an accumulation phase which means the network could see more buying activity in the coming days, creating a potential for a price surge. Its technical indicators are favourable and all signs point to a buying activity for investors in the coming days.”

In Tuesday’s trade, Cardano saw a 3.3% decline to $0.4476. Over the past month, the crypto token dropped by 24%, yet it rallied by 17% over the last year.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)