Several Venezuelan users of the platform for non-fungible tokens (NFT) OpenSea denounced that their accounts were suspended alleging that the company’s policies had been violated, according to the specialist lawyer in the area of Fintech and cryptocurrencies, Ana Ojeda.
Ojeda explained what happened with the largest marketplace of digital collectibles, on its Twitter account. «They tell me 3 Venezuelan users that OpenSea banned [limitó las acciones de usuarios] of their accounts for using VPN (Virtual Private Network).”
The VPN is frequently used in countries facing sanctions, such as Venezuela, which is sanctioned by the United States. This, because they allow you to bypass regional internet restrictions to access the platforms that are prohibited from providing services to the Caribbean nation.
It should be noted that, from its inception, OpenSea has not been available for users in Venezuela, because -due to the blockade- they could face reprisals from the US authorities. Until now, those who used the platform from the country to sell or buy NFT could only access it with a VPN.
The lawyer acknowledges that this is something “outrageous”, but that “unfortunately it is part of the platform’s policies”.
To make OpenSea’s decision clear, it is worth remembering that in the terms and Conditions of the platform establishes that users must guarantee that:
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- They are not located in a US embargoed country.
- They are not nationals of countries restricted or sanctioned by the US.
Considering the above, the question of many users is Until when will the sanctions applied by the United States continue to affect the population?
Ojeda asks if the “absurd policy” that only separates people who make use of this type of service is really effective. “Ultimately, you need to build truly decentralized Web 3.0 services,” he added.
What happened to the NFTs of Venezuelans?
Although the suspension does not allow access to user accounts, it is important to explain that the NFTs remain in the possession of their owners.
One of those affected by OpenSea’s decision, Davidson Arenas, exposed on Twitter that your NFTs are in your MetaMask wallet. “In my case, the best option would be to transfer them to another wallet through the NFT smart contract.”
The negative, says Arenas, is that when transferring the NFTs, you must pay the corresponding commission in the Ethereum network for each one of the collectible tokens. The commission or gas on that blockchain is usually quite high, given network congestionwhich translates into large commissions that must be canceled.
Another consequence of the US sanctions was known a few days ago, when the financial services and cryptocurrency platform Uphold announced that it was withdrawing from Venezuela, as reported by CriptoNoticias.
The company said they were leaving “due to the increasing complexity of US sanctions compliance.” Venezuelans had the opportunity to withdraw their funds until yesterday, June 30.