After the advertisements of the Floki Inu meme token, named after Elon Musk’s dog, the advertising ban on cryptocurrencies in the UK began to be discussed.
Sian Berry, Member of the Green Party London Assembly, argued that cryptocurrencies should also be banned, citing that they are not regulated in the UK.
After the backlash of crypto ads, the UK’s relevant advertising agency “Advertisement Standards Authority (ASA)” made a decision on seven cryptocurrency ads, saying that cryptocurrency ads are a “red alert priority”.
By banning related crypto ads, the ASA stated that seven ads or promotions were banned because they “recklessly exploit the inexperience of consumers and do not show the risk of the investment”.
Among the companies whose crypto ads have been found to violate the relevant rules are large companies such as Coinbacse and eToro:
1- A Twitter post of cryptocurrency trading platform Coinburp.
2- Again, an advertisement of Cryptocurrency trading platform eToro.
3- A digital poster ad of the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken.
4- A YouTube video promoting the cryptocurrency exchange Exmo.
5- An in-app advertisement of the cryptocurrency exchange Luno.
6- Coinbase’s “In 2010 #Bitcoin will be worth £5, in January 2021 it will be worth £100,000. Don’t miss the next decade – start Coinbase today” paid Facebook ad.
7- A promotional campaign on Papa John’s pizza restaurant chain’s website and Twitter page in the form of “£10 FREE BITCOIN”.
The ASA did not impose any penalties on the firms, saying it will more closely monitor advertisements related to fan tokens and NFTs.
The ASA warned companies that ads should make it clear that cryptocurrency is not regulated in the UK, after noting that future crypto ads could devalue investments in cryptocurrencies.