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U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned several crypto ads on Wednesday. Among those affected were promotions by Coinbase, eToro, Luno, and Papa John’s Bitcoin ad that were deemed misleading when it comes to the risks associated with crypto investments.
The advertising watchdog banned seven crypto ads on December 15 for “irresponsibly taking advantage of consumers’ inexperience and for failing to illustrate the risk of the investment,” CNBC reported. The banned ads belong to Coinburp, Coinbase Europe, eToro, Exmo Exchange, Luno Money, Papa John’s, and Payward.
“£5 in bitcoin in 2010 would be worth over £100,000 in January 2021. Don’t miss out on the next decade — get started on Coinbase today,” Coinbase’s ad stated. However, ASA said that the ad was misleading as it implied that there would be a similar guaranteed increase in Bitcoin’s value over the next decade.
“Consumers need to know about the risks of investing in crypto-assets and companies should make sure that their ads aren’t misleading or socially irresponsible by taking advantage of consumers’ lack of awareness around these complex and volatile products,” Miles Lockwood, ASA director of complaints and investigations, said.
Crypto exchange Luno posted ads across the London Underground network and buses that show an image of a Bitcoin. “If you’re seeing Bitcoin on the Underground, it’s time to buy,” the ad stated.
ASA said that it received four complaints about Luno’s ad. Three complaints pointed out that the ad is misleading as it failed to illustrate the risk of the investment while one complaint said that the ad took advantage of the consumer’s inexperience.
Meanwhile, pizza chain Papa John’s crypto ad in May offered to give away £10 ($13) in Bitcoin with orders over a certain amount, according to Coindesk. The ads were part of the “Bitcoin pizza day,” which marks the day when two Papa John’s pizzas were paid for with 10,000 BTCs in May 2010.
“In that context, and when there was high customer interest in pizza and bitcoin, they [Papa John’s] ran the promotion to raise awareness of the connection between cryptocurrency and pizza,” the pizza chain explained.
However, ASA said that the offer trivialized a “serious and potentially costly” financial decision. “The ads were addressed to a general audience and we considered that most of those who engaged in a promotion linked to buying pizza were likely to be inexperienced in their understanding of cryptocurrencies and the risks inherent in doing so,” the regulator said. “We further noted that the ads contained no risk warnings about cryptocurrency.”
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