The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has targeted eToro and Coinbase for their non-compliant crypto ads. Since the complaint, the ads in question were taken down.
ASA announced today that both of the companies ran pad ‘irresponsible’ and ‘misleading’ ads on their online platforms, promoting crypto services.
eToro’s ad ran on Yahoo Finance website on 27 August 2021. It primarily promoted the platform’s ready-made crypto investment portfolio.
Coinbase’s ad appeared on Facebook on 27 July 2021 and stated “£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”. The firm also went on to label its competitors “unregulated.
The British advertising regulator said that both ads were taking “advantage of consumers’ inexperience or credulity” and failed “to illustrate the risk of the investment”.
Coinbase was additionally slammed for calling its competitors “unregulated” and for referring to past price of Bitcoin, misleading investors to believe that a similar increase will be guaranteed.
