SEC: ICO celebrity promotion might be illegal, you know

As suggested by one of the latest U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission official statements, endorsement of initial coin offerings from celebrities is “potentially unlawful”. Chances to violate the law increase if a star tells about this investment opportunity without specifically mentioning that a sum of money was paid for this ad. Of course, not many companies would agree that mentions like these could improve the advertisement, but the law has spoken.

According to the explanation provided in the document, if the main asset used in ICOs - a token - is viewed as a security, this makes celebrities or any other individuals promoting ICOs unregistered brokers. As the ex-prosecutor from America suggests, this legal statement is providing a basis for cases the Commission might open in the near future, according to her, the SEC might actually be working at them as you read this news.

In previous reports on ICO promotion we have seen many celebrities deciding to participate in this new way of marketing the SEC is about to eliminate: among the notable examples are DJ Khaled and Paris Hilton, whose marketing tricks with #ThisIsNotAnAd hashtag are exactly what the SEC now calls unacceptable.