The British watchdog, called the ‘Advertising Standards Authority’, has according to the BBC seven crypto commercials banned.
7 Crypto commercials are banned
The ASA has banned crypto promotions from Coinbase Europe, eToro, Papa John’s, Luno Money, Exmo Exchange, Payward and Coinburp.
All seven ads were banned for irresponsibly taking advantage of consumers’ inexperience and failing to demonstrate the risk of the investment, the ASA said.
Papa John’s, a popular pizza chain, offered free Bitcoin worth £10. The pizza chain also linked their Bitcoin promotion to “Bitcoin Pizza Day,” which marks the first time Bitcoin has ever been used in a transaction, to buy a pizza in May 2010.
The ASA said this promotion downplayed a serious financial decision, especially in the context of the target audience who likely had limited cryptocurrency knowledge.
Payward’s ad did have a disclaimer. But the warnings in the ad were too vague, the watchdog ruled. Similar arguments were also made at the other companies to ban the advertisements.
The ASA focuses on crypto advertising
This is not the first time the ASA has targeted the crypto industry. In May of this year, it also banned an ad from Luno, which read: “When you see Bitcoin on the subway, it’s time to buy.” The ASA thought that ad was irresponsible.
The watchdog also recently targeted Floki Inu ads on the London Underground. In November, the advertising watchdog began investigating these advertisements.
An ASA spokesperson said: “I don’t think cryptocurrency ads should be on the transport network. They are unethical.”
Miles Lockwood, director of a division at the ASA, is also critical of misleading crypto advertising.
“Consumers need to be aware of the risks of investing in crypto assets and companies need to ensure that their advertising is not misleading or socially irresponsible by taking advantage of consumers’ lack of awareness about these complex and volatile products,” said Lockwood. .