Dapper Labs, the company responsible for creating NFT games and collections, has sanctioned Russian citizen accounts. According to the company, the measure is part of the new package of sanctions applied by the European Union against Russia. As a result of the sanctions, the creator of CryptoKitties and other collections stopped servicing all accounts with Russian connections. Dapper customers who try to access the site through Russia will not be able to buy or sell NFTs, for example. However, Russian users who have accounts will still be able to access and view their non-fungible tokens (NFTs). But they won’t be able to do any other operations using the tokens.
Following European Union legislation
A few days ago, the European Union applied a new package of sanctions against Russia – the eighth since the start of the war seven months ago. The new sanctions include a number of restrictions, including export bans on various products. Furthermore, the package is the first to nominally address cryptocurrencies. As such, the sanctions prohibit all cryptocurrency transactions between Russian and European wallet providers. That is, no European Union citizen or company can buy cryptocurrency from Russians. “Existing bans on cryptocurrencies have been reinforced by banning all cryptocurrency wallets, accounts or custody services, regardless of wallet value,” the European Commission said. With that, sanctions also talk about cryptocurrencies and NFTs. As a result, Dapper Labs has suspended Russian users from selling, buying or gifting any of their digital collectibles (known as “Moments”) across all Dapper Sports. Russian citizens also cannot withdraw cryptocurrencies and NFTs from Dapper to their wallets, nor can they purchase them on the platform. “Our stored value and payment processing services partner is subject to EU regulations, and has directed us to take action on all accounts held by those affected by the October 6 restrictions in accordance with EU law,” explained the statement. entity. However, Dapper Labs has not closed the accounts as Russian customers can access their NFTs as previously purchased collectibles still belong to them. The company revealed that it closely monitors the war between Russia and Ukraine and the actions of global regulators. In this regard, Dapper said it may announce additional restrictions in the future, as Western countries take further steps.
Russian war criminals and cryptocurrencies
Nearly a month ago, the United States Department of the Treasury sanctioned Russian-based cryptocurrency accounts. There were five sanctioned addresses, all belonging to the Russian paramilitary group Task Force Rusich. According to US authorities, the group committed war atrocities against soldiers in Ukraine. The Treasury also accused Task Force Rusich of funding its acts of war through digital assets. The US Treasury Department has pledged to continue assisting Ukraine’s efforts in the military conflict. Furthermore, he promised and weakened Russia’s forces in every possible way. “As Ukraine advances in defending its freedom, today we are taking steps to further degrade Russia’s ability to rebuild its armed forces. We want to hold the perpetrators of violence accountable and financially isolate (Vladimir) Putin.” However, the Dapper sanctions reignite the debate over decentralization. After all, if an NFT platform can censor some part, what guarantees the isonomy of this platform? And more: how to guarantee that censorship will not be used for less noble purposes, such as silencing opponents?
