OpenSea blocks Cuban artists on the back of US sanctions

30 Cuban artists and collectors have reportedly been censored on the OpenSea NFT market to comply with US sanctions. This includes well-known Havana-based artists Gabriel Guerra Bianchini and the Fábrica de Arte Cubano.

An OpenSea spokeswoman told Artnet News that they are adhering to the US-imposed restrictions. The banning of Cuban artists from online marketplaces has been a topic of contention all year.

A company representative stated: “Our Terms of Service explicitly prohibit sanctioned individuals, individuals in sanctioned jurisdictions or services from using OpenSea.”

Artists expelled from OpenSea

Recently @nftcubaart tweeted that none of the collections are visible on OpenSea. Although their wallets and NFTs are still accessible despite confirmation that the accounts have been disabled.

Cryptocuban founder Gabriel Bianchini responded:

“So sad to see that the future of web3 will not be decentralized.”

NFT artist Ernesto Cisneros said:

– In times of crisis, development work is carried out and this absurd attitude makes us think about more decentralization in order to safeguard our interests. It is the original spirit upon which we must focus our attention. #freedom, simple as that.”

Cubans removed from digital platforms

OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace, is one of the many online services that have kicked out Cuban nationals in the past year. In 2021, the marketing platform MailChimp suspended the account of a Cuban journalist, only to restore it later.

In interviews with TIME in 2021, Cubans claimed they were banned from a variety of cloud services, blogging platforms and other digital platforms, including NFT marketplaces. This is due to an almost 60-year history of an economic embargo against the nation from the United States

In September 2019, the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) tightened its sanctions. However, the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) still allow some services. For example, services such as web hosting, domain name registration, social networks, VOIP and e-mail or other messaging platforms.

Digital blockades can worsen as companies try to maintain a clean record on US books. This is as regulators are tightening their grip on the cryptocurrency business. Especially in light of the FTX collapse and the sluggish cryptocurrency market.

The largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, Binance, came under fire in July for allegedly violating US sanctions by allowing Iranian traders on its site. Soon after, Bittrex faced a $24 million fine from the US authorities in October. The claim was that the cryptocurrency exchange had given consumers a way to circumvent US sanctions against Syria, Iran and Crimea.

And given the current regulatory issues in the crypto market, any platform will presumably reduce further breaches.