- Cryptocurrency ads from top crypto operators have been banned by the regulatory agency in the UK.
- The affected companies include Coinbase, Kraken, eToro, and Luno amongst others.
- The UK has intensified its efforts to regulate cryptocurrencies leading to Binance shutting its doors to UK customers.
The Advertising Standards Authority has taken down cryptocurrency ads belonging to six firms for failing to meet regulatory standards. The agency gives its reasons and warns that falling short of the standards would have dire consequences.
Non-Compliant Ads
On Dec 15, the United Kingdom’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) revealed that it had taken down a series of ads from six crypto-related entities. The companies in question included leading exchanges like Coinbase, Kraken, eToro, Luno, and pizza restaurant chain Papa John’s.
The underlying theme in each of the companies’ adverts that offend the ASA was that they were “irresponsibly taking advantage of consumer’s inexperience and for failing to illustrate the risk of the investment.”
According to the ASA, Coinbase Europe Ltd ran a Facebook ad accompanied with the text urging citizens to seize the moment to invest in Bitcoin ahead of the next decade. The ASA revealed that Coinbase’s ad “did not state or imply that cryptocurrencies were an investment”. For eToro, the ASA noted that the ad was “misleading because it failed to illustrate the risk of the investment” and warned that it should not appear in the current form.
Luno’s ad on the Daily Mail Online app that included a text saying “Invest in crypto for as little as Є1” was flagged by the ASA on grounds that “it did not make clear that fees for buying and selling were applicable.” It was also flagged for failing to illustrate the risk of investment and given a warning that the ad should not appear in the form that the ASA has complained about.
Other affected ads were against Kraken’s Payward that the ASA claimed that the 20-second ad only had a 1-second risk warning which the agency believed would not have been sufficient time for consumers to appreciate. Papa John’s ad was also picked out by the advertising watchdog and was given a similar treatment.
The ASA Has A Streak
This is not the first time that the ASA is launching a crackdown on cryptocurrency ads that failed to meet its operating guidelines. Only last month, Floki Inu ads that appeared in London’s buses and the underground were subject to a high profile by the advertising regulator. However, Floki Inu’s team told the BBC that they have played according to the rules and their ads “include a clear disclaimer highlighting the volatility of cryptocurrencies.
In early 2021, the ASA ordered the removal of an ad by Luno for failing to meet the set standards. The ad read, “if you’re seeing bitcoin on the Underground, it’s time to buy.” The agency also famously banned Coinfloor’s ad on grounds that “neither Coinfloor Ltd nor the general Bitcoin market were regulated in the U.K.”
