Dapper Labs Suspends Russian Accounts From Accessing Services

The NBA Top Shot creator Dapper Labs has suspended accounts with connections to Russia citing the EU tightening of the sanctions. The sanctions prohibit companies from offering crypto wallet, account and custody services to accounts with connections to Russia, Dapper Labs said in a statement. It added that its payment service is based in the EU, which has directed it to comply with the sanctions. The company said it is restricting Russian accounts from being able to buy, sell or gift NFTs, as well as make other purchases or withdraw non-fungible tokens (NFTs) from the platform.

Dapper Labs added that while users cannot access their NFTs, they still own them and can continue to view them. “Dapper has not closed the accounts. Users impacted by these actions can continue to access and view their NFTs. Additionally, regardless of this new regulation, any NFT previously purchased by an impacted user continues to belong to that user,” the firm stated.

The firm outlined that as its “payment processing and stored value service partner is subject to EU regulations.” Dapper has been directed to impose the restrictions on these accounts under the EU law.

“However, Dapper has not closed the accounts. Users impacted by these actions can continue to access and view their NFTs. Additionally, regardless of this new regulation, any NFT previously purchased by an impacted user continues to belong to that user,” the firm stated.

The statement comes after multiple crypto users complained that they could no longer access their accounts, and revealed email correspondence from Dapper Labs about the restrictions.

Announced on October 6, the latest set of EU sanctions on Russia stipulates a full ban on the provision of crypto-asset wallets, accounts and custody services, regardless of the total value of the assets.

Meanwhile, Russia is still trying to navigate through the plethora of sanctions against it. As a result, the country is now considering using the digital RUB in international deals with Russia. This is even though it is still in the pilot phase of unveiling its CBDC development. With plans to use the digital RUB for mutual settlements by 2023, the central bank is now testing it for bank settlement.