UK's Advertising Standards Authority banned two adverts from Crypto.com


On 5th January 2022, the UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) announced it had banned two adverts from Crypto.com, a crypto platform following a complaint.
The first advertisement, seen on 1
September 2021 in the Daily Mail app, highlighted text which expressed, "Buy
Bitcoin with credit card instantly."
The second advertisement, seen on 30 July
2021 in the Love Balls app, guaranteed "up to 3.5% p.a". The number
in the text expanded to "8.5%."
"We understood that consumers would
interpret the claim 'Earn up to 3.5% p.a.' which increased to 'Earn up to 8.5%
p.a.' to mean that any deposit could increase by the highest amount shown,"
the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said.
The advertisements neglected to delineate
the dangers of the investment were irresponsible and exploited shoppers'
inability or credulity, the regulator ruling added.
The watchdog additionally protested the
idea that customers should purchase crypto on layaway without likewise warning of
the risks of venturing into the debt.
There were no fines given, just alerts that
future promotions should incorporate subtleties that clarify that the worth of
interests in cryptocurrency could go down just as up.
A Crypto.com representative said that the
two advertisements were eliminated quickly following commitment with the ASA.
The organization has elected to go " above and beyond the ASA’s rules"
by guaranteeing continuous consistency with Financial Conduct Authority's
Treating Customers Fairly results in 2 and 3, which allude to fair marketing
practices.
"We believe building a fully regulated
industry is the best way to accelerate the world’s transition to
cryptocurrency, which has long been our mission. Engaging regulators to ensure
compliance and building trust remain Crypto.com’s highest priorities," the
spokesperson said.
“We appreciate the collaborative dialogue
and engagement from the ASA regarding advertising in the UK in this relatively
new industry, and remain committed to working with them and regulators around
the world to ensure all of our activities are compliant with the most recent
regulatory guidelines.”
The ban adds to a large group of different
decisions against crypto-related firms from the controller. In December, it
prohibited seven crypto ads, calling crypto-assets a 'red alert' priority. The
organizations included exchanging stages eToro and Coinburp; trades EXMO, Luno,
Kraken, and Coinbase; just as a promotion from pizza chain Papa John's.
It additionally comes amid a marketing move
by Crypto.com. In November, it consented to a 20-year arrangement with AEG to
rename Staples Center in Los Angeles to Crypto.com Arena. The arrangement cost
the trade $700 million, making it one of the biggest sponsorship bargains in
sports history.
The ASA's move returns off the calls by UK members
from Parliament (MPs) for the UK government to take action against the crypto
business. On Tuesday, news had hit the wires of MPs in the UK requesting harder
guidelines on cryptos and NFTs.

Joyashree Dey
CBW - External Analyst
INDIA