chaintimes.com
UK’s Advertising Standards Authority, a self-regulating ad organization, officially halted an advertising campaign by cryptocurrency exchange Luno for being misleading and irresponsible. “The ads must not appear again in the form complained about,” the ASA said Wednesday, noting that ads like this should mention that Bitcoin investment is highly risky due to its extremely volatile nature. Luno’s ad posters contained an image of Bitcoin saying, “If you’re seeing Bitcoin on the Underground, it’s time to buy.”
ASA bans crypto exchange Luno’s ad campaign.
The ASA said that it received several complaints regarding Luno’s ad campaign, with people stressing that their posters failed to illustrate the risk of Bitcoin investment. “We considered that consumers would interpret the statement ‘it’s time to buy’ as a call to action and that the simplicity of the statement gave the impression that bitcoin investment was straightforward and accessible,” the ASA said. Bitcoin investment is “complex, volatile, and could expose investors to losses and considered that stood in contrast to the impression given by the ad, that investment was simple and conventional,” the ad organization wrote.
“Luno agreed not to post their Bitcoin ads in their current form again.”
The ASA said that the crypto exchange Luno agreed not to post their Bitcoin ads in their current form again and promised to ensure that future ads would carry a proper risk warning. The latest regulatory action from the UK comes against the backdrop of extreme volatility on crypto markets, with Bitcoin dropping from its all-time high above $64,000 to around $31,000 in mid-May. Bitcoin and other mainstream cryptocurrencies have gained mainstream exposure in the last few years. Bitcoin ads have been around for several years now. Earlier, the Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong launched the “Bitcoin Tram” ad campaign in Hong Kong, with some ads placed right in front of HSBC headquarters.