NFT Marketplace OpenSea Has Blocked Cuban Artists and Collectors From Its Platform …

The internet’s biggest NFT marketplace OpenSea is delisting Cuban artist and collector accounts from its platform in order to comply with U.S. sanctions law. Suspicions that OpenSea had been specifically targeting Cuban accounts had lingered in recent months—a stance the New York-headquartered company holds in respect to countries such as Venezuela, Iran, and Syria—but Artnet News can now confirm the policy extends to Cuban artists, following an exchange with the platform. “We comply with U.S. sanctions law,” an OpenSea spokesperson told Artnet News via email. “Our terms of service explicitly prohibit sanctioned individuals, individuals in sanctioned jurisdictions, or services from using OpenSea.” The development is a blow to Cuban artists who began minting work on the blockchain during the great NFT boom of early 2021, a time that coincided with the height of pandemic travel restrictions that deprived the island of valuable tourist dollars. One such artist is Gabriel Bianchini, a photographer whose work has appeared at the Havana Biennial and Milan’s MIA Photo Fair. After learning about NFTs on social audio app Clubhouse, he promptly minted Hotel Havana, a multilayered image juxtaposing the capital’s colorful and decaying buildings. It sold out in days. Gabriel Bianchini, Hotel Havana (2020). Photo:
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