[imagesource: wikicommons]

Selling cryptocurrency online has just become a little harder as the Advertising Regulator Board (ARB) looks to implement new rules to tackle ‘ridiculous and overinflated’ adverts. The rules will force anyone who sells or promotes cryptocurrencies to be clear about the possibility that you might lose your money.

Under the new rules, any advert for crypto must carry words at least similar to “investing in crypto assets may result in the loss of capital”. That warning may not be offset by the overall message of the ad.

Online traders and social media ‘influencers’ have gotten away with promising huge returns on crypto investments, often leading hopeful investors to spend huge sums of money on tokens. These investments often come to nought as the crypto markets are extremely volatile and the promised returns are not based on data at all, but rather on FOMO.

 South Africa’s Code of Advertising Practice, used by the ARB to ban specific ads or sanction advertisers who overstep, now has a specific section to deal with crypto assets.

The new rules have been established with the help of some major players in the crypto industry, such as Luno. Under the rules, any influencer or ambassador for a crypto company must also disclose their payments or freebies from these companies. This step hopes to temper expectations when it comes to the likes of Bitcoin and Ethereum.

However, membership with the ARB is voluntary, and advertisers can still choose to ignore the rules. This only emphasises the wisdom of buying crypto from a reputable company, and not from someone who DM’d you on Facebook.

The crypto ‘goldrush’ seems to have slowed a bit in the last year but, hopefully, the new regulations will prevent people from investing their pensions in a currency that is as unpredictable as Elon Musk.

[source: businessinsider]