Crypto.com is on the radar of UK watchdogs after they were accused of carrying out a misleading advertisement on their Facebook page. The UK Advertising Standard Authorities (ASA) accused the Australian Football League (AFL) Partner, Crypto.com, of displaying inappropriate ads, leading to a legal battle.
From all indications, pressure is mounting on crypto companies that have deals with sports organizations. From the start of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, many crypto companies have been scraping their deals with sports clubs.
Currently, the most recent Crypto.com news always features conflicts between them and The UK Advertising Standard Authorities (ASA). The most recent legal issue they have with each other is the advertisement video they found misleading for the public.
According to a blog post they published on their site, they highlighted Crypto.com for violating many laws that might make investors lose a lot of money. They said that Crypto.com failed to highlight the risk of investing in NFTs in the video.
The UK Advertising Standard Authorities (ASA) described the content of the video in the blog post.
"A paid Facebook ad for Crypto.com, a payment and cryptocurrency trading platform, seen in July 2022, had text that stated, “Crypto.com NFT is now available in the Crypto.com App. Mint, collect, and trade NFTs and manage your crypto all in one place. Launch Crypto.comNFT from the App home screen and make a purchase via drops on the Marketplace. Sign up to Crypto.com/NFT now! Access Crypto.com NFT at your fingertips," the blog post read.
Going further in the blog post, they highlighted why they might be going on a legal battle with Crypto.com. They said that their ad video failed to show details on the risk of investing in NFTs. Also, they said that Crypto.com failed to tell users that they would be paying a fee for buying the NFTs.
What is Crypto.com saying?
From the perspective of Crypto.com, they deny the allegations from The UK Advertising Standard Authorities (ASA). Crypto.com said they weren't promoting a specific NFT, which means they were only promoting the NFT industry.
Also, they said that they only showed users how to make purchases of NFTs, which does not require any fees to get started.
The UK Advertising Standard Authorities (ASA), in their press release, said that Crypto.com's response was, "Foris DAX Global Ltd t/a Crypto.com said that they did not believe the NFTs available on their platform, which included artists’ work and sports collectibles, to be financial in nature. They understood that was supported by HM Treasury’s recent consultation paper that excluded NFTs from the scope of financial promotion reforms. They therefore believed NFTs should be exempt from the financial rules of the CAP Code and should not have to make clear that profits from cryptocurrencies were subject to Capital Gains Tax and that they were unregulated."
On the part of the crypto community, many people have been outraged by the fact that The UK Advertising Standard Authorities (ASA) are going after crypto companies while sparing other industries. They mentioned gambling advertisements that are often displayed on different platforms. Most people pointed out that if gambling platforms that make people lose a lot of money are allowed to make advertisements, crypto companies should also be allowed.