Gitcoin Disables Grant for Farsi-Speaking Communities Due to US Sanctions –

Gitcoin, an organization that funds open source projects around the Ethereum blockchain, has disabled a grant because it is aimed at individuals from a sanctioned country. The scholarship called “Free Smart Contract Development Course for Farsi Speaking Communities” was led and organized by an organization called Women in Blockchain Farsi. The move led to a major backlash on social media against the decision.

Gitcoin withdraws Farsi Speaking Community Grant

Gitcoin, an organization that promotes open source software and other innovations around the Ethereum blockchain through the use of grants, has disabled a grant due to legal problems related to US sanctions for other countries. The grant, titled “Free Smart Contract Development Course for Farsi Speaking Communities,” was guided to make teaching Solidity (Ethereum’s smart contracts language) to Farsi speakers much easier.

The course, which was organized and led by an organization called Women in Blockchain Farsi, now has no funds to continue its work. Previously, Consensys, another Ethereum software company, had also banned 50 Iranian students from attending programming courses last month because they are in US-sanctioned countries. Women in Blockchain Farsi criticized this recording that says:

The scholarship is for Farsi speakers, the assumption that anyone who speaks Farsi must live in Iran and be sanctioned is absurd.

Gitcoin's take on the problem

Gitcoin argues that they were obligated to respond in this way and had to act based on law and case law. It seems that the organization did not notice the scope of the scholarship and deactivated it as quickly as possible. Gitcoin explained:

This grant was brought to our attention by a reporter who is publishing a larger story on Ethereum and sanctioned nations.We are a US-based organization that complies with OFAC and US law. U.S. sanctions laws apply to all U.S. persons, wherever they are.

The organization further explains that maintaining this grant could have jeopardized the entire operation as it would have been exposed to legal action from government institutions. Gitcoin also stated that they are Focus on a more decentralized grant program with their DAO at the helm, allowing them to offer dGrants capable of bypassing these legal hurdles.

However, this was not well received by users on social media who have criticized Gitcoin's move to stop funding the Persian-speaking communities grant.

What do you think about deactivating the Gitcoin scholarship for this program? Tell us in the comments section below.

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