American businessman and socialist Kim Kardashian has been criticized on Instagram for promoting cryptocurrency.
The criticism came from the chairman of the Financial Conduct Commission (FDA), the UK’s financial regulator.
In advertising for Ethereum Max, Kardashian “told his 250 million followers to guess a cryptocurrency,” said Charles Randall.
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Randall called the coin “a speculative digital token created by unpredictable developers.”
He also accused digital influencers of having “quick wealth illusions”.
Randall spoke about the case during the Cambridge International Symposium on Financial Crimes.
He pointed out that FCA President Kardashian’s Instagram post was properly flagged as an advertisement, which may be “the largest publicly accessible financial advertisement in history”.
The token advertised as Ethereum Max should not be confused with Ethereum Cryptocurrency.
“I can’t say if this is a particular token [Ethereum Max] This is a scam, “said Randall.
“Social media influencers will help reject new tokens because they are usually paid by fraudsters. Some influencers promote non-existent currencies,” he said.
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The BBC approached Ethereum Max and Kim Kardashian for comment, but received no response.
Randall said about 2.3 million Britons currently own cryptocurrencies, and 14% of them borrow, thus “increasing financial loss”.
The FCA has repeatedly warned the UK of the dangers of possessing “speculative tokens” that are not regulated by the FCA or covered by any compensation scheme.
“If you buy them, you have to be prepared to lose your money,” he said.
Randall said there is still room to advise consumers that their investments are not protected from “the relentless and often deceptive advertising strategies of some cryptocurrencies.”
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