Crypto advertising is increasingly being examined more precisely

The British advertising supervisory authority intensifies its examination of ads for high -risk cryptocurrencies, while the sector is waiting for the Financial Conduct Authority to take new supervisory powers.

The Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) published a asset announcement to more than 50 British companies on Tuesday that are promoting for cryptocurrencies, and their standards for these ads, including warnings, to encourage people to buy crypto with credit cards or to exchange their pension for such tokens as Bitcoin.

The notification marks an escalation in the struggle of the ASA, against what it describes as a widespread problem with "misleading and irresponsible" crypto ads.

Nick Hudson, operations manager at the ASA, said: "It is definitely a step upwards. This is a sector that we recognize that he needs some work, as the government also recognized."

RISHI Sunak, the Chancellor, said in January that the government would try to change the law to give the FCA new powers to monitor crypto-asset promotions and to reconcile advertisements for digital assets with the stricter standards that currently apply to other financial ads. However, the ASA said that you do not expect the new system before 2023 and warned that unscrupulous operators could try to take advantage of the delay.

"Our role is really important during this time. Advertisers know that the FCA regulation is on the way. This is a time when you may want to earn hay," said Hudson.

The mass advertising for risky cryptoinvestment has become one of the most urgent priorities for financial guards around the world who try to bring the “wild west” of virtual assets under their control.

FCA examinations from last year showed that savers who bought crypto after they had seen advertisements regretted their purchases with greater probability.

The Australian supervisory authorities led a lawsuit against the Facebook owner Meta last week for "fraudulent celebrity crypto ads" that were spread on the social media website. Meta said it was trying to block fraud, but could not comment on the legal case.

Some countries have even gone harder. Singapore banned almost all influencer ads for public transport and social media for crypto this year, while Spain said that influencers have to inform the regulatory authorities in advance about crypto posts.

The ASA that monitors the British advertising sector will share responsibility for crypto with the FCA as soon as the financial supervisory authority assumes its new powers. Crypto joins other industries that have been beaten with ASA enforcement messages, including fertility treatments and prescription drugs for weight loss.

The message follows a number of judgments that aim at crypto advertising campaigns, of which the watchdog said they violated the British advertising standards. The agency sanctioned Floki Inu this month, a token named after Elon Musk's dog, for a number of advertisements in public transport in London, of which the ASA said that they had "used consumers' fear of something".

The regulatory authority did a number of large crypto providers last year, including Coinbase and Etoro, with formal complaints because of their advertisements-and fought against advertising campaigns for the "fan token" of the Arsenal football club.

crypto operators have said that they tried to comply with the standards, with some third-party mistakes or errors responsible for non-compliance with the standards. Other companies have said that the ASA standards are unclear or that the watchdog subsequently applied new rules on already switched advertisements.

The ASA said its enforcement notification combined the precedent from their recent judgments in a number of guidelines for the industry. "This gives very, very clear indications of how you have to advertise exactly," said Hudson.

Miles Lockwood, director of complaints and investigations with the ASA, praised some crypto companies that they quickly brought their ads into line. "We already see many of these companies that comply with the regulations," he said.

The message begins with a six-week countdown up to a deadline, according to the crypto company that is not subject to the ASA rules, subject to stricter enforcement measures. This includes cooperation with advertising providers in order to block non -compliant advertising, or ultimately legal steps against companies that refuse to stick to it.

Companies are subjected to an additional examination as soon as the government implements its plan to give the FCA powers of most cryptocurrency ads. The regime of the financial supervisory authority, which currently applies to mainstream systems such as stocks and funds, requires that a company regulated by the FCA are approved before they are switched, and provides for more violations.

Global Digital Finance, a crypto trade group, wrote to the British Ministry of Finance on Saturday and said that the proposed standards "unfairly punish the cryptoasset industry", sometimes because most crypto companies are not FCA-autorized and therefore would have to rely on other financial companies to sign their advertisements.

Ian Taylor, Executive Director of the Cryptouk lobby group, said that the industry "Wolle will be compliant", but the new rules are "actually a complete ban on crypto advertising.