Accounts belonging to OpenSea users with Iranian IP addresses have been blocked. In the background, there is growing pressure on large cryptocurrency exchanges such as Coinbase, Kraken and Binance to restrict access to their platforms to all Russian users and financial entities.
Cryptocurrencies are only for “good” people.
According to various accounts of collectors and artists who have recently been unable to access the OpenSea service, the platform has begun to block the accounts of Iranian users. An OpenSea spokesperson confirmed that such actions are indeed taking place.
“OpenSea prohibits individuals from U.S. sanctioned areas from accessing our services, including buying, selling or transferring NFT to OpenSea,” He told CoinDesk. “We have a zero-tolerance policy for individuals or entities subject to sanctions, as well as people living in countries subject to sanctions,” the spokesman added.
In the background, there is growing pressure on cryptocurrency exchanges to block Russian citizens’ accounts. This is demanded by the White House National Security Council and the US Treasury Department. In line with the directive, the Biden administration has asked cryptocurrency exchanges to ensure that “Russians will not use cryptocurrencies as a means of escape” from sanctions.
In the case of OpenSea, account bans were reported by several users, three of whom admitted to using the platform’s services while in Iran.
Arman, an OpenSea user from Iran, also reported seeing a “404 error” while trying to visit the market’s website. Arefeh Norouzii said his verified account had been deleted “for no reason.”
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