Nicholas Anthony, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, has stated that if the Nigerian government had refrained from implementing “on‐again, off‐again price controls,” they might not be blaming the cryptocurrency exchange Binance “for the naira’s latest crash.” Anthony shared these insights on April 11 in a commentary posted on the Cato Institute’s website titled “Nigeria’s Government Is Blaming Binance for Its Own Mismanagement.”
“Taking accountability for mismanaging the naira begins with letting the market, and the market alone, decide the exchange rate for the naira,” said Anthony. “The government’s on‐again, off‐again price controls have largely made a mess of the economy. In fact, had the government not placed such a heavy hand on exchange rates, it’s unlikely that Binance would have ever been blamed for the naira’s latest crash considering part of the accusation was that Binance manipulated the exchange rates.”
In his commentary, Anthony pointed out that the Nigerian government had engaged in “years of currency mismanagement.” Consequently, many Nigerians turned to cryptocurrency as a means to gain exposure to alternative currencies. When the naira crashed again in February, government officials singled out cryptocurrency as the cause. Officials then invited Binance to send representatives to Nigeria to discuss the situation. However, upon arrival, these employees were detained and placed under house arrest. Among them was Tigran Gambaryan, an American citizen and former U.S. federal government agent.
According to The Conversation, Nigeria’s inflation rate escalated from 28.92% in December to 29.90% in January – a peak unseen in two decades. The value of the naira depreciated by 69% between June 2023 and mid-February 2024. As a result, Nigerian residents are grappling with skyrocketing costs for basic necessities while the country’s economic predicament shows little sign of improvement without fiscal discipline from its government.
Gambaryan joined Binance in 2021 as Vice President of Global Intelligence and Investigations, according to information available on Binance’s website. Prior to this role, Gambaryan spent ten years as a special agent with the Internal Revenue Service—Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Cyber Crimes Unit based in Washington D.C.. During his tenure at IRS-CI, Gambaryan spearheaded several multi-billion dollar cyber investigations, including those into Silk Road and the Mt. Gox hack.
In an April 4 post on Binance’s website, the company “respectfully requests that Tigran Gambaryan, who has no decision-making power in the company, is not held responsible while current discussions are ongoing between Binance and Nigerian government officials.” The post further highlighted that Gambaryan “is a strict law enforcement professional” whose team has responded to over 600 information requests from Nigerian law enforcement since he joined the company in 2021.
Anthony’s research, as stated on the Cato Institute website, primarily focuses on monetary and financial economics. He is recognized as an expert on topics such as cryptocurrency, central bank digital currency, and financial privacy. Additionally, he holds a fellowship at the Human Rights Foundation.
