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The Canadian company Dapper Labs has blocked operations with non-fungible tokens (NFT) for Russian accounts. The move follows a new round of sanctions recently imposed by the European Union banning the provision of crypto-related services to Russian residents and entities.
Dapper Labs, the creators of the Flow blockchain network and projects such as Cryptokitties and NBA Top Shot, have complied with the new restrictive measures adopted by the European Union in response to Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine.
The eighth package of EU sanctions was approved by Brussels on Thursday, October 6, after the latest escalation of the conflict with Russia announced partial mobilization and taking steps to annex four Ukrainian regions through what the bloc sees as fake referendums.
The sanctions, aimed at the Russian economy, government and foreign trade, also contain financial measures that affect the business operations of crypto companies. The latter has been banned from offering wallet, account or custody services to Russian citizens.
The restrictions apply regardless of the amount of digital assets, and tighten the regime compared to the fifth round of sanctions imposed earlier this year, when only “high-value” crypto-asset services were banned, those for crypto holdings exceeding €10,000 ($11,000) on that time).
“Our payment processing and stored value service partner is subject to EU regulations and has asked us to take action on all accounts held by those affected by the October 6 restrictions, in accordance with EU law,” Dapper Labs explained in an announcement published on its website.
As a result, the company said, Dapper has had to suspend accounts with connections to Russia from buying, selling or gifting an instant across all Dapper Sports, any withdrawals from Dapper accounts and Dapper balance purchases.
However, the NFT platform pointed out that the accounts were not closed. Affected users will be able to access them and see their tokens. They will also retain any previously purchased NFTs. “Any moments you own and any Dapper Balance remain your property,” assured Dapper while apologizing for any inconvenience.
Other crypto companies with a presence in Europe are likely to adopt similar measures, but the restrictions may not affect all global platforms. For example, Binance reportedly informed users in Russia that they were not introducing new restrictions, according to Russian crypto media. This despite the world’s largest crypto exchange complying with the previous round of European crypto sanctions.
Do you expect other crypto companies to suspend services for Russian account holders? Let us know in the comments section below.
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