Leading UK advertising watchdog, Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), has declared that it would be introducing new measures to curb misleading crypto ads that have flooded the country’s media.
According to the regulator’s spokesperson, the agency would be looking to take more proactive measures in enforcing crypto advertisements. In his words, the agency would “carry out proactive monitoring and enforcement of crypto advertising and will also scope out additional guidance in the coming weeks.”
He continued that “we are also considering whether further action is needed in addition to current ongoing investigations of social influencers promoting cryptocurrency.”
Per a Financial Times report, Miles Lockwood, the director of complaints and investigations at ASA, stated that the body had earmarked crypto as a red alert priority.
The report stated that
Cryptocurrency advertising is a key priority for us. We recognise the importance of the role we play currently in regulating ads to ensure they don’t mislead consumers about the risks of this product and are not irresponsible in how they promote them. Crypto has exploded in recent years but there is a real danger that people may be drawn in to invest life savings that they later lose based on poor understanding.
Earlier in the year, the advertising regulator had forced Luno, a crypto exchange in the country, to correct its advert which was encouraging people to buy Bitcoin.