PancakeSwap to geoblock users from Iran, North Korea, others

TL;DR Breakdown

• PancakeSwap will start blocking access to IP addresses for Iran starting from March.
• The blockage will be extended to other nine jurisdictions.

PancakeSwap is a BSC-based decentralized exchange that allows users to swap and stake cryptocurrencies. However, recent reports allege that the exchange is planning to block Iranians and users from other nine jurisdictions starting March 9. This will prevent users from accessing the platform from the countries blacklisted.

PancakeSwap will block users from 10 countries

In a recent tweet, a Persian language crypto page CryptoClub, shared an image of the notice from PancakeSwap, disclosing their plan to geoblock Iranians and other users from Cuba, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Syria, Iraq, Crimea, and Belarus. While geofencing is popular with centralized exchanges, it’s supposed not to be seen with decentralized ones.

The reason behind this development remains unknown, and there wasn’t any official announcement from PancakeSwap regarding the alleged ban during the time of publication. Many people in the crypto space aren’t in support of this, given that platforms like PancakeSwap are supposed to be decentralized and accessible to everyone, regardless of their geographical location.

Geoblocking in decentralized finance?

While commenting on the notice, a user said, “It is not subject to any specific regulation related prohibiting such practices […] However, it is definitely a form of discrimination, and they are discriminating against an entire nation. I hope the community will come together to act.”

An alternative interpretation is that PancakeSwap may not want to violate sanctions against Iran. A possible way they could comply with U.S. rules would be by checking whether users are citizens or residents of countries that are under sanction by the government. The changing regulatory climate is also forcing DeFi players to modify their strategies. Uniswap Labs recently delisted several tokens from its platform amid talks on DeFi regulation.

PancakeSwap DEX is claiming the largest number of users in the Binance Smart Chain. According to data analyzed by DeFiLlama, the DEX accounts for the significant value of assets locked on the blockchain.