An advertising campaign telling people that it was “time to buy” bitcoin has been banned for being misleading, after U.K. regulators ruled that it “irresponsibly” suggested investing in the cryptocurrency was straightforward. The Advertising Standards Authority, or ASA, the U.K.’s independent advertising regulator, ruled on Wednesday that the ads took advantage of consumers’ lack of experience and gave the false impression that investing in bitcoin was easy.
Crypto exchange Luno advertised itself on public transit around London in February with the message “If you’re seeing bitcoin on the Underground, it’s time to buy.” The ad prompted complaints to the advertising regulator about whether the message was misleading by failing to illustrate the risk of the investment, as well as whether it took advantage of consumers’ “inexperience or credulity.”
The ASA said that the ads’ presence on London public transit meant that it was likely to be seen by people without financial knowledge and experience of bitcoin, who would expect it to be regulated with legal protections for investors. Moreover, the U.K.’s advertising code requires that investment marketing be clear that the value of investments is variable and could go down as well as up.
“We considered the fact that Luno and the bitcoin market were unregulated to be material information that consumers required in order to make informed decisions about Luno’s service, and should have been made clear in the ad,” the ASA said in its ruling. This formed the basis of its conclusion that the campaign was misleading.
The regulator also said that the statement “it’s time to buy” was a call to action giving the impression that investing in bitcoin was straightforward and accessible. “We understood that bitcoin investment was complex, volatile, and could expose investors to losses and considered that stood in contrast to the impression given by the ad, that investment was simple and conventional,” the ASA said. “We concluded that the ad irresponsibly suggested that engaging in bitcoin investment through Luno was straightforward and easy, particularly given that the audience it addressed,” it added.
