Kardashian's Instagram Cryptocurrency Promotion Irks UK Financial Watchdogs
Annie Li Sep 07, 2021 08:40
British financial watchdogs are wary of investors' cryptocurrency investment risks introduced by well-known influencers such as Kim Kardashian West.
British financial watchdogs are wary of investors' cryptocurrency investment risks introduced by well-known influencers like Kim Kardashian West.
Kim Kardashian West posted an Ethereum-related network project-related story on her Instagram story with 228 million followers, as reported by Blockchain.News on June 16.
In the story she posted, Kim Kardashian West shared a cryptocurrency called "Ethereum Max token".
The British financial regulator pointed out on Monday that Kardashian has no need to disclose and promote this category to its fan base "a speculative digital token created a month before by unknown developers –- one of the hundreds of such tokens that fill the crypto-exchanges."
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) also warned investors of the risk of “speculative tokens”. Investors should be aware of the risk of losing money because FCA regulations or any compensation plan does not cover these tokens.
Randell said that:
"These tokens have only been around for a few years, so we haven't seen what will happen over a full financial cycle. We simply don't know when or how this story will end, but – as with any new speculation – it may not end well."
As an influencer with 228 million followers on Instagram, Kim Kardashian West's post is regarded as almost certainly the most prominent social media encryption promotion ever.
Although Kim Kardashian West labelled it with hashtag #AD beneath, indicating that this post was charged, Charles Randell, Chairman of the Financial Conduct Authority, stated that this might be "the largest financial promotion in history", according to Bloomberg's report today.
Randell stated that it is not that this particular token is a scam, stating that:
Image source: Shutterstock"But social media influencers are routinely paid by scammers to help them pump and dump new tokens on the back of pure speculation. Some influencers promote coins that turn out simply not to exist at all"
