Watchdog bans seven ads in crypto ‘red alert’
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The UK’s advertising authority has banned seven bitcoin advertisements.
Following concerns that many advertisements fail to clearly express the hazards of investing, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has declared cryptoassets, such as Bitcoin, a red-alert priority. The pizza chain’s promotion and Facebook ads for a large bitcoin exchange were among the banned ads.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said it plans to issue new rules on bitcoin advertising.
According to the statement, all seven ads or promos were blocked for irresponsibly exploiting customers’ inexperience and failing to illustrate the investment’s danger.
The company said it was part of their annual Bitcoin pizza day celebration, which commemorates the exchange of two Papa John’s pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins in May 2010. A tenth of a bitcoin is currently worth more than £350 million ($462 million).
According to the corporation, the marketing made no mention of cryptocurrencies or their suitability for investment.
According to the chain, the free Bitcoin offer was not the same as a scenario in which a customer was given the option to invest their own money in a financial product.
The Kraken ad, which prompted a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority, was displayed on a digital poster at London Bridge station.
Despite the fact that it included a lengthy disclaimer, the ASA concluded that consumers would not have had the time to comprehend the necessary information in the disclaimer, assuming they saw it at all and that it was thus not clear.
Some legislators are questioning whether cryptocurrency advertisements should be allowed on London’s trains and buses.
The prohibitions are part of a larger project that will result in updated recommendations for cryptoasset advertising next year.
“Cryptoassets are a red-alert priority concern for us,” said Miles Lockwood, the watchdog’s director of complaints and investigations.
Over the coming few months, the ASA will continue to evaluate cryptoasset marketing, not just for cryptocurrencies, but also for NFTs and fan tokens, according to the ASA.