NFT Ad by Crypto.com Taken Down by UK Advertising Authority

• A sponsored Facebook ad for the crypto platform was reported by ASA.
• Crypto.com disagrees with the ASA’s assessment.

On December 21st, Crypto.com had an NFT campaign prohibited by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the UK’s advertising authority. A sponsored Facebook ad for the crypto platform was reported by ASA. The agency said in a press statement that it didn’t adequately warn about the potential downsides of investing in NFTs or spell out any fees.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time the exchange has received a complaint about advertising. This year, the regulator responded to a complaint about similar concerns by removing two advertisements from the platform.

Increased Scrutiny Over Crypto-related Ads

Crypto.com disagrees with the ASA’s assessment. That the NFTs it offers on its site are “financial in nature” and so should be banned. In addition, it claimed that the advertisement did not promote any particular NFTs. But rather the exchange via which they might be acquired, labelling the regulator’s request as “unreasonable.”

To further argue that there was no need to include fees, Crypto.com said that the disputed advertisement in the issue did not allude to the company’s selling capabilities but rather suggested the acquisition of NFTs, which does not need any fees for any payment methods.

In addition, Crypto.com said that before consumers listed NFTs for sale, they were made aware of the fees involved. Customers minting their own NFTs on the platform were similarly informed of the expenses involved before they could begin utilizing the service.

However, the ASA agreed with the complainant and mandated that the ad in its present form not run again. Since last summer, the ASA has increased its scrutiny of crypto-related ads and was preparing to roll out new regulations. It is intended that by actively monitoring and enforcing crypto advertising, deceptive adverts would be avoided.