OpenSea Bans Cuban Artists and NFTs Cites US Sanctions
OpenSea restated its policy to ban individuals and entities from jurisdictions sanctioned by the US from utilizing its platform. The company cited explicit provisions blocking Cuban artists and NFT collectors.
OpenSea referred to the explicit requirements to restrict Cuban artists and collectors, citing sanctions imposed by the US. The strict observance of sanctions was captured in an Artnet report regretting the blocking of 30 collectors and artists from accessing the NFT marketplace.
Cubans Artists and Collections Blocked
A notable exclusion from the marketplace is Fábrica de Arte Cubano and Gabriel Bianchini. Adding the Havana-based creators to the banned list affirms OpenSea’s strict compliance policy with the US-led sanctions.
OpenSea’s adherence to the US sanctions was evident in blocking NFT collectors and artists from Syria, Venezuela, and Iran. The recent axing of Cuban artists illustrates OpenSea the classifies the country on the prohibited list. The NFT marketplace representative indicated that OpenSea holistically evaluates the measures to implement when serving its community in strict compliance with the applicable regulations.
Artnet report garnered support from the criticism lodged by a Twitter profile – NFT Cuba Art admitting OpenSea disabled its profile. The December 12 tweet lamented that the Web3 NFT marketplace made the platform inaccessible to Cubans.
Nevertheless, the tweet wondered why it imposed the partial block that disables listing and viewership while retaining access to the wallets.
Decentralized Platforms Yet to Shake off Centralized Policies
BitRemasa founder Erich Garcia wondered why the Cuban NFT collections were prohibited. In support, Gabriel Bianchini, through his Cryptocuban platform post on december 13, questioned the future of the decentralized ecosystem, particularly when Web3 platforms uphold restrictions imposed by the centralized governance systems.
Beyond OpenSea, crypto firms have exited or shut down operations in jurisdictions affected by the EU sanctions. The shutdown is evident in the exit of crypto operators, including Crypto.com, Kranken, Bitfinex, Blockchain.com, and LocalBitcoins, following the EU sanctions citing the Ukraine invasion.
Criticism of Banning Cubans
The move by OpenSea has, in the past, attracted criticism from within the crypto operators, including Binance and Coinbase. They argue that the cryptocurrency ecosystem is founded on the decentralization ethos. However, most intermediating crypto firms still operate similarly to centralized Web2 entities.
OpenSea’s decision to delist the Cuban artists has reawakened the call for ending intermediation in the crypto space. Most critics question the absence of an actual decentralized marketplace that hardly aligns with nationalities.
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