NFT marketplace OpenSea will ban Cuban artists and users from the platform to comply with US sanctions.
In the industry that emphasizes decentralization, companies that comply with the sanctions of the states bring some contradictions.
OpenSea Complies with Cuba Sanctions
An OpenSea spokesperson used the following statements in a statement to Artnet News:
“We comply with US sanctions law. Our terms of service expressly prohibit sanctioned individuals, individuals or services in sanctioned jurisdictions from using OpenSea.”
The confirmation from a company spokesperson came after a Twitter account named NFTCuba Art shared a screenshot of an email announcing it was “disabled due to activity contrary to our Terms of Service.”
Sanctions in the “Decentralized” Industry
While distributed ledger technology is decentralized in nature, the crypto industry still has huge centralized platforms that comply with international sanctions.
Earlier this month, the US Department of Justice considered the possibility of accusing Binance of money laundering and sanctions violations, Reuters reported.
Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken also agreed to a $362,000 deal on the grounds that it violated US sanctions on Iran.
Dapper Labs had frozen NFT withdrawals for users with connections to Russia to comply with EU sanctions. However, he later allowed it.