A British financial regulator concerned about the lack of rules for online promotion of cryptocurrencies has called out celebrity influencer Kim Kardashian West's use of her Instagram account to pitch Ethereum Max to her followers.
Charles Randell, chair of the Financial Conduct Authority, said Kardashian was recently paid to ask her 250 million Instagram followers to speculate on crypto tokens by "joining the Ethereum Max Community."
He noted Kardashian disclosed that the post was an ad, as required by Instagram's rules.
"But she didn't have to disclose that Ethereum Max – not to be confused with Ethereum – was a speculative digital token created a month before by unknown developers – one of hundreds of such tokens that fill the crypto-exchanges," Randell said in a speech Monday to the Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime, according to a transcript posted online.
Randell said he didn't know whether Ethereum Max was a scam. "But social media influencers are routinely paid by scammers to help them pump and dump new tokens on the back of pure speculation," Randell said. "Some influencers promote coins that turn out simply not to exist at all."
Email requests for comment were sent to Kardashian West's representative and Ethereum Max.
Until recently, digital currencies, like Bitcoin, have been left largely unregulated by major governments but recent comments by officials like Randell indicate they're now paying more attention.
Last month, Gary Gensler, the new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said investors need more protection in the cryptocurrency market, which he said was "rife with fraud, scams and abuse."
Randell said the Financial Conduct Authority had repeatedly warned about the risks of holding speculative tokens, which unlike mainstream investments aren't covered against loss by U.K. government compensation programs.
To help people avoid scams, Rendell says the authority publishes a list of unregistered crypto exchanges that it suspects are operating in the U.K.
He also said paid advertising, which is the main source of online investment scams, isn't covered by the U.K. government's upcoming online safety legislation but should be.
Avid completes acquisition of Wolftech
Avid®, known for software solutions for professional media production, has completed the acquisition of Wolftech Broadcast Solutions, a leader in cloud-based multiplatform news planning, production and publishing solutions.
The acquisition enables Avid to combine its digital-first, end-to-end media solution with Wolftech’s expertise in story-centric workflow management. News organizations will be able to increase efficiency and accelerate story delivery through enhanced remote collaboration and multiplatform amplification.
Avid CEO Wellford Dillard stated, “Wolftech is unquestionably on the leading edge of where the industry is going, and this acquisition demonstrates Avid’s commitment to transform news, sports, and live production workflows. We are delighted to welcome Wolftech into the Avid family.”
Wolftech CEO Arne Berven added, “We were focused on finding a partner that could accelerate the adoption of our platform globally. We explored a number of possibilities, but when we talked to Avid, we knew it was the right match.”
The closing of the acquisition follows Avid’s announcement on October 7 that the company had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Wolftech.
With this acquisition, Avid deepens the integration between the two toolsets while continuing to embrace an open approach in partnering with a wide range of media production tools and newsroom systems. Existing Wolftech customers will benefit from Avid’s global scale for customer support and professional services.
Ian Axton, head of production operations for ITV News, said, “As a customer of both Avid and Wolftech we’re excited about the benefits this acquisition will bring to our users and our business. Wolftech has transformed... Read More