The cryptocurrency industry is full of sanctions and laws from countries around the world. His NFT marketplace, OpenSea, the internet’s largest, has banned accounts of Cuban artists and collectors from its platform due to US sanctions.All digital artists further expelled from countries sanctioned by US
This time OpenSea specifically targeted accounts in Cuba, but in recent months the same effect has spread to other countries sanctioned by the US, including Venezuela, Iran and Syria.
Sanctions also reflect the work of Cuban artists abroad
News of the ban arrived on shores after NFTcuba tweeted in disappointment after a long absence. This also reflects Cubans and other nationalities on the island having to put up with censorship at the web3 company. In addition, sanctions also reflect Cuban artists living in other countries.
The company reportedly banned more than 30 Cuban artists. Every month, the platform had about 120 million visitors. In other words, banning Cuban artists is a way for companies to lose property value.
The company briefly states that it complies with U.S. sanctions laws, and its terms of service are barred for sanctioned individuals and users in sanctioned countries. , evaluates the conditions and other steps we should take to serve our communities and comply with U.S. law.
Affiliated news outlets initially said that Cuban artists were not informed of the account deactivation, many of them were no longer living their current lives as of that date, and that they had no time to deal with US sanctions. Some of the notable artists to struggle with are the famous Havana-based artists Gabriel Bianchini and Fabrica de Arte Cubano.
Erich Garcia Crus also reported that market access was restricted and NFT collections were also banned.
In addition to this, Gabriel Bachini said that Web3’s future blockchain applications do not appear to be decentralized.
The ban is a major blow to Cuban artists who have started working on blockchain minting amid the 2021 NFT boom. Because this technology has become a form of liberation, not only economically but also creatively, amid lockdowns and pandemics. A difficult economic chain.
for Cuban artists high seas It turned out to be something of a bridge to connect with the world during the difficult times of the pandemic.
Also read: The Women Who Influenced the Crypto Space in 2022
But the ban came as no surprise to Cuban artists, following a 60-year history of sanctions with the United States and escaping into the digital age. I can’t access the platform like many other applications.
This is not the first time Cubans have faced a ban from OpenSea. On March 14, 2022, her Twitter handle for NFT Cuba tweeted that OpenSea continues to shut down NFT Cuban’s profile without any explanation. Iranian artists were also banned from using the OpenSea marketplace for the month of March.
In response, OpenSea said their market follows a zero-tolerance policy for individuals sanctioned by the United States or located in sanctioned countries. If any individual is found to be in violation of our sanctions policy, they are assured that necessary action will be taken.
The US currently has economic sanctions on North Korea, Syria, Russia, Cuba and Iran. The company strictly follows the sanctions policies against individuals in these countries. Apart from OpenSea, several other cryptocurrency platforms had restricted their services to Russian customers following sanctions imposed by the European Union over the war with Ukraine earlier this year.
