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Bitcoin Ad in Hong Kong Apple Daily Publication Promotes Bitcoin As Beyond Government Control

In the Hong Kong Apple Daily today, a full-page ad was dedicated to Bitcoin and called on Hong Kongers to move their wealth from banks and into Bitcoin which is beyond the control of “any” government.

A new full-page advertisement for Bitcoin appeared in the Hong Kong Apple Daily, the local tabloid and pro-democracy media outlet. The advertisement did not promote any specific exchange or business but instead appeared to be an open call to promote the revolutionary cryptocurrency Bitcoin itself.

In English the advertisement read:

“Bitcoin is digital money. It is not issued or controlled by any government or corporation. Nobody can stop you from transacting on the network and it cannot be shut down. Bitcoin is available to anyone regardless of their nationality, gender or beliefs. Bitcoin began with the Genesis Block during the financial crisis of 2009. Now its time is coming.”

The anti-establishment message of the Bitcoin advertisement of the unstoppable nature of Bitcoin is most likely due to the current political tensions between Beijing and the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement. The Hong Kong Apple Daily is a marked “yellow” news publication, which symbolizes the yellow umbrella revolution a few years back, pro-establishment businesses have been marked as “blue.”

Recently the CEO of the Apple Daily Jimmy Lai was arrested under Hong Kong’s new National Security law. The tabloid paper’s headquarters were also raided by authorities the same day. His detainment has been viewed as the beginning of a crackdown against pro-democracy figures in the special administrative region of Hong Kong. Lai was released 40 hours after arrest on bail.

Has the Bitcoin Migration of Wealth Begun

As reported by the Blockchain.News on Aug 11, Hong Kong’s wealthy have been moving large amounts of gold out of the Asian financial center following Beijing’s imposed national security law measure which came into effect in July 2020.

Following the reports, Max Keiser the American broadcaster and Bitcoin advocate said he is confident the tensions in the region are one of the contributing factors to the Bitcoin price surging up to $12,000.

Keiser suggested that capital flight out of Hong Kong and Asia is driving Bitcoin to new highs, as moving your wealth internationally is “something near impossible with Gold.”

In a tweet on Aug 10, Keiser alluded to Bitcoin being the most efficient method of moving large amounts of capital across borders and most likely the method being leveraged as geopolitical tensions rise in Asia. He wrote:

“Capital flight out of Asia taking the #Bitcoin express. You can’t take it with you unless it’s Bitcoin – then you can take IT ALL with you. (Something near impossible with Gold).”

Keiser has been famously bullish on Bitcoin and believes the price won’t see further resistance until $28,000 before it continues on its way to $100,000 in the coming year.

London Lawmaker Urges Government to Ban Crypto Ads on Public Transport System

A London Assembly member from the Green Party, Sian Berry, is pushing for a broad crackdown on advertisements featuring digital currencies on the London Transport System.

While the lawmaker said she is not targeting any specific advert, she said it is unethical for the city’s rail and buses to feature unregulated digital tokens.

As contained in one of her tweets over the weekend, Berry said she would recommend removing these ads to London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan. The legislator said in one of the tweets:

“Like gambling ads, which we have finally got the Mayor to remove, there is no way our public services should be used to advertise these unregulated, risky schemes to Londoners. I asked for a ban in July and I am still pushing,”

In late October, Blockchain.News reported on the aggressive ad campaign launched by Floki Inu, a meme coin named after Elon Musk’s pet dog. The coin aims to rival its predecessors, including Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB). While Floki Inu flooded the London Transport system, it acknowledged in its ad that the token was unregulated in the United Kingdom.

Berry believes this caution is not enough, drawing attention to the anonymous identity of the people behind the project.

“The website promoting Floki Inu coins gives no names of anyone involved,” she said in the tweet.

She also noted that Transport for London (TfL), the public transport regulator, has not made any attempt to do a background check on the digital token to be sure it’s neither a scam nor a pump and dump scheme.

While the TfL said all of the adverts it has accepted on its network have always complied with its policy as well as the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruling, the calls from Sian may stir a new reality that will stump the ad campaign of other intending digital currency projects in the city and country as a whole.

Singapore Bars Crypto Service Providers for Public Ads

In a bid to protect members of the investing public, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has prohibited all outdoor advertisements for all cryptocurrencies or digital payment tokens (DPT) service providers.

Curbing Misinformation in Crypto Ads

The move to ban crypto ads in public space for all crypto service providers was hinged on the fact that many of the ads can downplay the risks inherent in investing in the digital currency ecosystem. The advice was contained in the newly published “Guideline on the Provision of Digital Payment Token Services to the Public” that was directed to both the licensed crypto service providers as well as those in the transitional period.

According to the MAS, “DPT service providers should conduct themselves with the understanding that trading of DPTs is not suitable for the general public. These Guidelines set out MAS’ expectation that DPT service providers should not promote their DPT services to the general public in Singapore.”

However, the prohibition of public ads is not a blanket ban on advertisement for crypto players as a whole. According to the MAS, those who wish to publish ads can do so through the dedicated website or via any operating mobile apps they control.

More Countries, More Crypto Ads Crackdown

Regulators and lawmakers worldwide are quite wary of fraudulent ads or those that downplay the risks of excessive exposure to unregulated and volatile crypto assets. Last, the unknown developers behind the Floki Inu memecoin flooded the streets of London and the transport unit with the token’s ads, a move that drew swift criticism from one of the city’s outspoken lawmakers, Sian Berry.

Beyond the United Kingdom and Singapore, other European regulators, particularly the French Ads watchdogs, have also placed a blanket ban on public advertisements for digital currency service providers respectively. While it is not a global affair yet, there is an expectation that more regulators will trail this path with the rising rate of scams in the nascent ecosystem.

UK Regulator Cracks the Whip on Deceptive Cryptocurrency Ads

The United Kingdom government intends to bring crypto promotions into line with other financial advertisements to be transparent and fair, stopping misleading cryptocurrency ads that might trigger consumer harm like loss of money.

In a statement, the UK’s economic and finance ministry, HM Treasury, disclosed plans to put crypto advertisements under the microscope of regulation through an amendment to the Financial promotion order.

This will be instrumental in bringing crypto ads within the desired parameters, rendering consumer protection, and boosting innovation.

Therefore, promotions linked to crypto assets will be bound by rules set by the nation’s monetary watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

This approach was prompted by the fact that nearly 2.3 million people in the United Kingdom are speculated to own cryptocurrencies, but some buyers may not have a clear picture of what they entail.

The new rule is aimed at preventing crypto products from being sold mistakenly. Furthermore, it will prompt a great balancing act of encouraging innovation and preventing deceptive crypto ads.

Rishi Sunak, the chancellor of the exchequer, welcomed this move and stated:

“Cryptoassets can provide exciting new opportunities, offering people new ways to transact and invest – but it’s important that consumers are not being sold products with misleading claims.”

In June last year, the FCA slapped Binance, the world’s leading crypto exchange, with a restriction barring it from conducting advertising and financial promotions. The financial watchdog disclosed that the crypto exchange was not licensed to offer any products to UK consumers unless it regained permission, as reported by Blockchain.News.

Lately, cryptocurrency advertisements have been experiencing heavy scrutiny. For instance, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) recently banned all outdoor advertisements for all digital payment tokens (DPT) and cryptocurrency service providers to protect its citizens.

Singapore Shuts down Crypto ATMs After Ban on Public Crypto Ads

All cryptocurrency ATMs in Singapore have been shut down by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, following the city-state’s prohibition of all crypto-related advertisements in public spaces.

“To comply with the sudden announcement, we have ceased to offer buy or sell services via our five ATMs while seeking further clarification from the MAS,” said Daenerys & Co, the biggest Singaporean crypto ATM operator.

Deodi Pte also announced the shutdown of its ATM in adherence to the new guideline.

The move by the MAS to ban crypto ads in public space for all crypto service providers was hinged on the fact that many of the ads can downplay the risks inherent in investing in the digital currency ecosystem, Blockchain.News reported.

The advice was contained in the newly published “Guideline on the Provision of Digital Payment Token Services to the Public” that was directed to both the licensed crypto service providers as well as those in the transitional period, the report added.

In the guideline issued by the MAS, the central bank said it had “observed that some DPT (digital payment token) service providers have been actively promoting their services through online and physical advertisements or through the provision of physical automated teller machines (ATM) in public areas.”

The move is part of a broader effort by the Singaporean watchdog to regulate advertising cryptocurrency to the public.

Prior to Singapore’s crackdown on cryptocurrency advertising, Spain and the United Kingdom also issued similar limitations.

While the Spanish government made it mandatory for crypto businesses to provide ad campaigns for regulatory approval ten days in advance, the UK launched a review of cryptocurrency advertising norms, vowing to crack down on products with deceptive claims.

Coinbase Traffic Hits Historic Highs Following Super Bowl Ad, Jumping to Top 2 on App Store

Following a minute-long ad worth $14 million meant for the Super Bowl, US-based crypto exchange Coinbase raked in the dividends because traffic reached historic highs.

Reportedly, the traffic was overwhelming, resulting in the Coinbase app surging to the second spot from the 186th position on the Apple store, according to Block Research.

The Block added:

“Crypto apps shot up App Store download charts in the US on Monday morning, after a Super Bowl studded with digital assets advertising. Super Bowl LVI’s face-off between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams also saw two of the biggest crypto exchanges, FTX and Coinbase, compete for eye-balls.”

Surojit Chatterjee, the Chief Product Officer at Coinbase, took to Twitter and confirmed the company’s significant traffic witnessed following the advertisement. He stated:

“Coinbase just saw more traffic than we’ve ever encountered, but our teams pulled together and only had to throttle traffic for a few minutes. Humbled to have been witness to this.”

He added that the Coinbase landing page also went haywire.

“We had over 20M hits on our landing page in one minute. That was historic and unprecedented. We also saw engagement that was 6 times higher than our previous benchmarks.”

The Super Bowl is usually a battle of the titans, given that it’s the annual playoff championship game of the National Football League (NFL).

Therefore, it’s a famous game on American soil and beyond, making companies splash significant amounts to get notable airplay.

For instance, Singapore-based crypto exchange platform Crypto.com selected NBA’s four-time most valuable player (MVP), LeBron James, as its new weapon for mainstream adoption during the Super Bowl.

This move was seen as a stepping stone towards crypto adoption because his influence and reputation go beyond the sphere of basketball and sports.

Crypto Ads in India to Brandish with "Highly Risky" Disclaimer

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), the sovereign regulatory body for all forms of advertisements, has published a new set of guidelines for stakeholders in the digital currency ecosystem.

As contained in a press release shared by the regulator, the new guideline, set to kick off in April, became necessary in the wake of the proliferation of crypto ads in the past year.

According to the ASCI, the majority of these adverts often contain limited information that may prey on the naivety of Indians. In response to this perceived threat, the regulators mandate that all adverts must carry the disclaimer;

“Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions.”

The disclaimer must be visible in both print and other forms of media. Specifically, TV Ads that are more than 2 minutes long are mandated to contact a clear voiceover of the disclaimer at the beginning and end, respectively. Additionally, the ASCI said the disclaimer must remain on TV screens for a minimum of five seconds.

As a major caution, the ASCI said adverts should not contain the words “currency”, “securities”, “custodian”, and “depositories”, as this can be misconstrued by the investing public as though cryptocurrencies are regulated commodities.

“We had several rounds of discussion with the government, finance sector regulators, and industry stakeholders before framing these guidelines,” said Subhash Kamath, Chairman of ASCI, “Advertising of virtual digital assets and services needs specific guidance, considering that this is a new and as yet an emerging way of investing. Hence, there is a need to make consumers aware of the risks and ask them to proceed with caution.”

While crypto ads are becoming one of the most prevalent ways for Virtual Assets Service Providers (VASPS) to publicize their products and services, regulators, including those from Singapore, UK and France, are tightening their efforts. With the India ad watchdog joining the trend, expectations now mount for more to join in the near future.

New clause in South Africa's advertising code for cryptocurrency

The Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) in South Africa has introduced a new provision for the cryptocurrency business. This clause is intended to safeguard consumers against unethical advertising in the cryptocurrency industry.

A new clause was added to Section III of the advertising code for the nation of South Africa, and it stipulates that businesses and people in the country are required to comply by specific advertising standards relating to the offering of cryptocurrency-related goods and services.

‘Expressly and clearly’ stating that investments may result in the loss of cash “since the value is changeable and may go up as well as down” is something that all advertisements, including those for cryptocurrency offers, are required to do according to the first clause of the regulation.

In addition, advertisements indicating prospective investment losses must not contradict any cautions that are given.

It is essential that marketing communications for certain services and goods be presented in a way that is “clearly understood” to the target demographics.

Advertisements are required to provide statements that are fair and impartial on the returns, features, advantages, and dangers involved with the product or service being promoted.

Rates of return, predictions, or forecasts must also be fully supported, including a description of how they are computed and an explanation of what circumstances apply to the returns that are being promoted.

Any information referring to prior performance cannot be used to guarantee future performance or returns, and it should not be presented in a manner that generates “a favourable image of the marketed product or service.” [Case in point:]

It is inappropriate for advertisements placed by bitcoin service providers who are not also registered credit providers to promote the purchase of cryptocurrencies through credit.

Nevertheless, this does not stop service providers from promoting linked payment options that they provide to customers.

Additionally, it is going to be required of social media influencers and brand ambassadors that they will conform with particular advertising guidelines.

This includes the need that truthful information be shared, as well as the ban against giving advise on trading or investing in crypto assets and the prohibition against making claims of advantages or returns.

Randall Crater, Founder of "My Big Coin" Sentenced

Randall Crater, the person responsible for operating the fraudulent scheme known as “My Big Coin,” was given a sentence of one hundred months in prison and was ordered to make restitution payments totaling more than seven and a half million dollars to those who had lost money as a result of his scheme.

According to a statement that was released by the United States Department of Justice on January 31, the United States District Court Judge Denise Casper in the state of Massachusetts was the one who handed down the sentence that was given to Crater.

This sentence was handed down to Crater after he was found guilty by a federal jury on July 21 of four counts of wire fraud, three counts of unauthorised monetary transactions, and one count of operating an unregistered money-transmitting corporation. All of these charges were related to the same scheme. After adding up all of these fees, it became clear that Crater was running an unlicensed money transmission business.

Crater launched My Big Coin in 2013, and despite the fact that it was never intended to be a payment mechanism for cryptocurrencies, the company promoted itself as such. This resulted in the solicitation of potential victims between the years of 2014 and 2017, and the con was carried out right up to 2017.

According to Crater, the digital currencies that are available for purchase on My Big Coin are fully operational tokens that are backed by gold. Furthermore, the website has a collaboration with Mastercard to facilitate transactions.

In addition, Crater provided its users with access to a marketplace known as “My Big Coin Exchange,” which was promoted as a location at which users could trade their cryptocurrencies for fiat currencies such as the United States dollar and other currencies.

A substantial percentage of the $7.6 million in finance that Crater and his marketing team were successful in generating was used for the acquisition of a residence, many automobiles, and more than one million dollars’ worth of antiques, artwork, and jewellery.

Why A-List Celebrities Are Still Promoting Unvetted NFT

While the backing from a large number of A-list celebrities helped to speed up the boom in the use of non-fungible tokens (NFT) in 2021 and 2022, some of those celebrities pushed unvetted projects to their supporters without understanding whether or not the projects were authentic. Even after the markets have recovered in 2023, the practise continues to enjoy widespread adoption.

In addition, the MMA fighter failed to take into account the vital fact that the frequently asked questions section of the website explains that there is no way for investors to get “Sourz” NFTs.

When Kim Kardashian pushed the EthereumMax (EMAX) crypto token to her 330 million Instagram followers in June 2021, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) uncovered a situation that was identical to the one that had occurred in June 2021 with Kanye West. The Securities and Exchange Commission believes that by omitting to report the sum of $250,000 that she had received for the promotion, Kardashian violated the anti-touting section of the Securities Act.

Coffeezilla, on the other hand, took measures to guarantee that the people who fell for the fake NFT project were informed as soon as possible. Users are taken to a website that issues a warning about the possibility of being taken advantage of when they click the “Mint Sourz” button (as seen in the screenshot located above).

Although Coffeezilla intends to provide further details in a subsequent video, the event serves as a powerful caution to influencers and investors that they should do their own investigation before to promoting or investing in a project.

According to the fictitious creator Atto, the project Little Shapes NFT, which was established in November 2021, was a “social experiment” with the goal of shedding light on large-scale NFT bot network frauds that were taking place on Twitter.

When asked about the motivation for the creation of the NFT project, Atto replied that he required a tale that sells to ensure that no one would disregard a story that hurts. He said this when expressing his objective behind starting the project.

The planned avatar-style project known as Little Shapes, which would include 4,444 NFTs and enable owners to interact with and modify the artwork in real time, was advertised under this name.