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Several METAMASK users based in Venezuela had posted complaints on social media last night stating that they were unable to access their MetaMask wallet.
The users complained that they were getting error messages repeatedly while trying to log back into their MetaMask accounts.
MetaMask Accidentally Suspends Services In Venezuela
The leading Ethereum based wallet made headlines last night when it “accidentally” suspended its services in Venezuela. The Venezuelan citizens were quick to point out their inability to access the wallet and took to Twitter to demand a rapid redressal of the problem.
One Twitter user expressed his dissatisfaction on social media by uploading a snapshot of the MetaMask query page stating the reasons why it blocks services in certain countries citing “legal compliance issues”
Ahora parece que por solo estar en Venezuela no puedes usar la conexion principal de @MetaMask con Ethereum por Infura… ??. Esto es una muestra que "la descentralizacion" que tanto pregonan es una farsa. pic.twitter.com/zleNH5e29Q
— Jose Rafael Pena (@joc_ra) March 3, 2022
It was later revealed that Infura, which is a service provider used by MetaMask, had suspended its services in Venezuela, rendering the crypto wallet inaccessible in the nation temporarily.
In addition to this, it was also revealed that several Iranian users were also blocked from accessing OpenSea, which is one of the leading NFT marketplaces. The Iranian NFT enthusiasts took to Twitter to express their discontent.
Creators and collectors from Iran have been deplatformed from OPENSEA for being in Iran, a country sanctioned by the US embargo. Link to various tweets in this thread, but please read what Mondoir had to say as well and understand how important decentralization is. https://t.co/UyuXAUl0xk
— Farokh.eth (??, ??) (@farokh) March 3, 2022
As reported by Forbes, “OpenSea blocks users and territories on the U.S. sanctions list from using our services–including buying, selling, or transferring NFTs on OpenSea–and our Terms of Service explicitly prohibit sanctioned users or users in sanctioned territories from using our services.”
Several crypto critics suggested that the bans may have something to do with the sanctions on Iran and Venezuela imposed by the US. The White House had recently issued sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.
MetaMask Restores Services In Venezuela
Later, MetaMask’s service provider Infura took to Twitter to inform its users that the wallet had lapsed temporarily due to a misconfiguration made by Infura, as a result of “the new sanctions directives from the United States and other jurisdictions.”
In response to the concerns we have been hearing, we want everyone to know that we corrected the problem that so many of you have pointed out. In changing some configurations as a result of the new sanctions directives from the United States and other jurisdictions, we
— Infura (@infura_io) March 3, 2022
Infura further stated that in their bid to comply with sanctions imposed by the United States, they configured their settings in a “broader manner” than it needed to be. According to MetaMask, the services in Venezuela have been restored.
mistakenly configured the settings more broadly than they needed to be. This was our oversight, and we are grateful that it was pointed out to us. Once we determined what happened, we were able to fix the problem, and service has been restored.
— Infura (@infura_io) March 3, 2022
