Quick take:
- NFT marketplace OpenSea has banned Iranian users from the platform.
- The platform is implementing US sanctions placed on various countries.
- All eyes are on Russia now as calls for the crypto world to block Russian users continue.
The world’s largest non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea has started to implement US sanctions placed on various countries. The organization has now blocked Iranian users from accessing the platform.
On Thursday, OpenSea traders from Iran on social media complained they had been blocked from accessing the service.
Breaking the news on Twitter Amir wrote, “today, I’ve been notified that many accounts for residents of countries under economic sanctions by the US are now terminated.”
However, he was concerned by the potential implications on the industry by the actions taken by OpenSea to comply with US regulations.
Shortly after, Farokh.eth replied confirming that creators and collectors had been blocked from accessing OpenSea.
According to an OpenSea representative, the platform blocks users based in sanctioned territories.
Writing in an email sent to Decrypt, the representative said that OpenSea blocks all users and territories facing US sanctions from using the platform, including buying, selling and transferring of NFTs.
The representative stressed that OpenSea Terms of Service explicitly prohibit users from sanctioned countries from using its platform.
“We have a zero-tolerance policy for the use of our services by sanctioned individuals or entities and people located in sanctioned countries. If we find individuals to be in violation of our sanctions policy, we take swift action to ban the associated accounts.”
With this statement, all eyes have been set on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. The crypto community has already demonstrated its sympathy with the Ukrainians through donations but now wants the key players in the industry to take action.
The community is calling on exchanges and various NFT marketplaces to prevent Russian users from accessing their platforms. Earlier this week, the government of Ukraine asked cryptocurrency companies to ban Russian users.
The US, the UK and the EU have already placed tough economic sanctions on Russia, stifling its financial system.
Stay up to date:
