Dapper Labs Restrict Russian Users Following 8th Wave of EU Sanction

Consumer-based Non-fungible token (NFT) service provider Dapper Labs announced that it is no longer offering payment options to Russian NFT owners and Russian nationals owing to the newly imposed sanctions by the European Union (EU). In effect, it is blocking such crypto accounts with immediate effect as its payment service is based in the EU. 

The financial-related EU sanctions forbid companies like Dapper Labs from offering crypto-asset wallet, account, or custody services of any value to accounts with connections to Russia, no matter the amount the wallet holds.

These Russian accounts will no longer be able to buy, sell, transfer, withdraw or perform any actions on their NFTs. Entirely, they will not be allowed to access their NFTs.

As stated by Dapper Labs the NFT firm behind popular CryptoKitties and NBA Top Shots, suspended accounts linked with Russia will not be able to perform “purchase, sale, or gifting of any Moment across all Dapper Sports, any withdrawals from your Dapper Account, and Dapper Balance Purchases.”

On the other hand, they will still have ownership rights of the NFTs as they can still view them. Also, “regardless of this new regulation, any NFT previously purchased by an impacted user continues to belong to that user. Any Moments you own and any Dapper Balance continue to be your property.”

Dapper Labs Move Spark Concerns

This new wave of sanctions from the EU is targeted toward dissuading Russia’s invasion of Ukraine which started almost nine months ago. It goes further to express an intensification of the sanctions which were placed on the war-ladened country since April. This is about the 8th wave of EU sanctions on Russia.

So far, several Dapper Labs users linked to Russia have tried to access their accounts but were not granted access.

The news from Dapper Labs has sparked mixed concerns among the crypto community. Some argued that it is not within the firm’s power to influence the situation. Others believe that it is not in sync with the whole idea of crypto which is decentralization and censorship resistance.

While the crypto community is still trying to argue against Dapper Labs’ move, more Web3.0 firms will likely issue restrictions on Russian users in connection to the EU sanctions.