The leading NFT marketplace, OpenSea, is now subject to a new accusation. Famous political NFT artist Stonetoss has accused the platform and Rarible of delisting their new NFT collection Flurks.
The artist took to Twitter to address both OpenSea and Rarible to get an explanation as to what happened. Stonetoss wrote, “I believe this was likely the result of a mass reporting campaign done in bad faith.”
Hello @opensea.
I am reaching out because I fear your platform is being coopted as a tool for political censorship.I also sent this message to your support page. My collector community would like a reply.
(Also respectfully tagging opensea founders @dfinzer & @xanderatallah) pic.twitter.com/h8VPDQiBmh
— stonetoss comics (@stone_toss) November 22, 2021
Accusations Against Flurks
Flurks, the collection in the center of the controversy performed remarkably well before OpenSea delisted Flurks. The collection with 5k NFTs sold out in 22 minutes with $2 million in fees. In a few hours, it made over 100 ETH in trade volume.
Because of his work in political territories, Stone explained many of the accusations made against him before. Being called a Nazi sympathizer is one of them.
The artist said, “my renown as an artist is precisely because I can operate in this censorious environment”. Stone thinks the reason, OpenSea delisted Flurks, is because it included the confederate flag.
The artist has an answer for this as well, “mind you my collection also included traits such as a Gay pride flag, a Gadsden flag, a Soviet Army ushanka(hat), and a hammer-and-sickle shirt.”
None of these can be a reason for banning an NFT collection because these are on public display in many places.
The fundamental idea behind NFTs or blockchain, in general, is very simple. NFTs are digital art functioning in a decentralized permissionless environment. Or at least that’s what we believe.
Although the platforms are yet to comment, it seems like OpenSea and Rarible disagree.
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This article is educational material.
As always, make your own research prior to making any kind of investment.
