Decentralized NFT marketplace OpenSea has reportedly started to block users based in Iran without any prior notification.
What Happened: A number of frustrated users based in Iran took to Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) on Thursday to complain about not being able to access their accounts on the OpenSea platform.
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NOT A gm AT ALL
— Bornosor.eth (@Bornosor) March 3, 2022
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 straight up purging its users based on their country now?
Thread
— Arman | armanpix.eth (@armanpix) March 3, 2022
Today in the morning I was about to check my OS account and this message showed up to me , at first i thought i was hacked or there is a problem with OS website.Then I know that me and many other people which is most Iranians got banned by @opensea without any pre notice pic.twitter.com/yoXrXaNw8L
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Had a really bad day waking up to 404 error on @opensea
— ARΞFΞH.eth✨ (@ArefehNorouzii) March 3, 2022
One year of activities, all gone. they vanished my verified account with no explanation! & Not only me but many other friends of mine are concerned about this cause their accounts are banned/deactivated/… at the moment! https://t.co/PmIEMiHvNN pic.twitter.com/7jdoGo7DWL
Users reported that their entire account history had been erased and their verified NFT collections had been taken down.
“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,” an OpenSea spokesperson said in a statement to CoinDesk.
Existing sanctions against prevent any U.S. company from providing goods and services to users based in Iran, North Korea, Syria and Russia.
OpenSea is the world’s largest decentralized marketplace with over $22 million in sales. The marketplace was originally built on the Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) blockchain and now offers support for Polygon (CRYPTO: MATIC) and Klatyn.
In January, Benzinga reported the NFT marketplace was in talks to raise funds at a $13-billion valuation.