According to a letter obtained by The Block and posted on Twitter, Dapper Labs had frozen funds in accounts that have ties to Russia. This move was linked to the most recent wave of financial sanctions against Russia resulting from its invasion of Ukraine.
NFT company Dapper Labs has warned users with “connections to Russia” that funds in their account-based cryptocurrency wallets have been frozen under a new EU sanction against Russia.
Dapper was forced to block clients with Russian connections from accessing funds in their wallets “regardless of the amount.” According to an email sent to Twitter and independently reviewed by The Block, The Block also posted an email to Twitter.
As previously reported, the EU has banned cryptocurrency payments to Russian accounts as part of a wider sanctions package. Dapper Labs is located in Vancouver, Canada.
The Twitter account @Crypto_Braniac claims it is based out of Moscow. It posted a copy Friday afternoon to Twitter, tagging NFT company.
A copy of the letter was obtained from a client, who although not Russian, had previously lived there.
Dapper didn’t immediately respond to our request for comment.
The letter, in which clients are sincerely sorry for any inconvenience, states that clients will have access to their NFTs. However, they will not be allowed to sell or transfer them into other wallets. It also cites EU financial sanctions against Russia that were placed on Russia in response to its February invasion of Ukraine.
The eighth round of EU sanctions against Russia includes the announcement on Oct. 6 that tightened restrictions on crypto payments coming from Russian accounts. The previously implemented cap of EUR10,000 on wallets (which was $9,741) was also removed in this round.
