Iranian Users Blocked on OpenSea In Compliance with U.S. Sanctions

OpenSea has been caught in developing discussions surrounding international sanctions after its platform struck the accounts of users with Iran-based internet protocol addresses. Countless users posted screenshots on Twitter which showed that their accounts had been deleted while those who manage verified collections reported that those collections have been removed.

“NOT A gm AT ALL Woke up to my @opensea trading account being deactivated/deleted without notice or any explanation, hearing lots of similar reports from other Iranian artists & collectors. What the hell is going on? Is OS [OpenSea] straight up purging its users based on their country now?” Tweeted a user who goes by the handle Bornosor.

A representative from the platform, however, defended that “OpenSea blocks users and territories on the U.S. sanctions list from using our services, including buying, selling, or transferring NFTs on OpenSea. If we find individuals to be in violation of our sanctions policy, we take swift action to ban the associated accounts.”

In November 2021, a similar instance occurred when ConsenSys — an Ethereum software company — prohibited Iranian students from its coding academy. Granted that OpenSea is a U.S. company headquartered in New York and incorporated in Delaware, these instances are possibly the result of sanctions against the Iranian government implemented by the U.S. Under the sanctions, U.S. companies are prevented from providing goods or services to any user based in Iran.

The compliance of crypto-related companies has been the center of attention of policymakers, particularly as new sanctions were implemented in light of the tensions between Russia and Ukraine. On Thursday, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren directed a question at Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell regarding the use of crypto for undermining sanctions.

“Chair Powell, obviously you do not administer sanctions, but you are an expert on the international financial system. Are other countries currently using cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions? I’m thinking here of North Korea, Iran, Venezuela,” inquired Warren. Powell’s response affirmed that he has “read that those things happen.”

Source: CoinDesk