Solana’s decentralized exchange (DEX) Orca will block all US users from accessing its web interface starting March 31, according to a notice posted on the platform’s official website on March 16. .
The exchange generated over $634 million in trading volume in February and has over $46 million total value locked (TVL) in Solana smart contracts, according to data from DeFi Llama.
On March 16, the protocol’s website added a notification that read: “Orca will add the United States to the regions and countries that are restricted from trading on Orca.so starting March 31, 2023.”
The notice emphasized that this change “It will not affect the ability of US users to directly interact with Orca’s smart contract or SDK, or their ability to provide liquidity through Orca.so.”
US users who directly interact with Orca smart contracts will not be affected by the change, according to the statement.
Orca is one of the DEXs used by Jupiter to obtain liquidity for its swap aggregator service. So the Jupiter website can be an alternative for traders who want to interact with Orca smart contracts.
Cointelegraph attempted to contact both Orca and Jupiter, but did not hear back from either as of press time.
Centralized cryptocurrency exchanges that are not licensed in the US have often blocked US users to avoid the wrath of US regulators. But most decentralized exchanges have not followed suit, with a few exceptions. Aggregator 1Inch began blocking US uses in September 2021, after declares in its terms of use that residents of the United States could not use its interface. Binance DEX also banned US users use their platform in June 2019.
Unlike centralized exchanges, DEXs do not have a centralized back end or developer controlled database. For this reason, many users have found that they can bypass geo-bans in most cases by using a VPN to hide their IP address or by connecting directly to the blockchain through a developer tool like Truffle or Hardhat.
Clarification: The information and/or opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views or editorial line of Cointelegraph. The information presented here should not be taken as financial advice or investment recommendation. All investment and commercial movement involve risks and it is the responsibility of each person to do their due research before making an investment decision.
Keep reading:
Investments in crypto assets are not regulated. They may not be suitable for retail investors and the entire amount invested may be lost. The services or products offered are not directed or accessible to investors in Spain.
