UK Bans Crypto Adds by Kraken, Papa John’s Pizza, eToro, Coinbase and Luno

A number of cryptocurrency ads have been banned by the advertising watchdog in the United Kingdom, which include those that were run by Papa John’s Pizza, Coinbase, Kraken, Luno, and eToro. According to the authority, these ads are misleading and are trying to take advantage of the people’s experience irresponsibly. On Wednesday, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the UK decided to ban a total of seven crypto ads. Other companies that also had their ads banned include Exmo and Coinburp. The UK advertising watchdog evaluated the ads and said that they do not illustrate the risk associated with crypto investments.

Specific instructions were also issued by the ASA to each company in order to guide them about what they need to do for ensuring compliance with advertising standards in the future. Along with these, the authority also ordered that the ads should not appear in the same form again. The ad introduced by Papa John’s Pizza was a promotion on Twitter and the company’s website. The renowned pizza chain had been giving away bitcoin back in May with purchases. A free bitcoin worth £10 had been advertised by the company. Crypto exchange Luno would give £10 worth of Bitcoin for purchase of £30 or more and customers would also be able to save £15. 

As far as Coinbase’s advertisement is concerned, it was a paid-for ad on Facebook. The text included in the ad highlighted that bitcoin worth £5 in 2010 had reached a value of £100,000 in January 2021, so people shouldn’t miss out on it and start using the exchange. The ad by Luno was an in-app one found in the online app of Daily Mail. It said that people could invest in cryptocurrencies for as low as £1. It is certainly not the first time that the ASA has had an issue with ads by crypto exchange Luno. 

The ‘Time to Buy’ bitcoin ads that the crypto exchange had posted on the underground and London buses back in May had also been banned. The ad by Payward had been a digital poster that promoted its crypto exchange Kraken, which could be seen at London Bridge station. The ad included text that said that people could buy 50+ cryptocurrencies in minutes, start with as low as £10 and also buy crypto and build a digital wallet on the go. As far as eToro’s ad is concerned, it was a paid-for ad on the website of Yahoo Finance. The text in the ad said that people could invest in the top crypto in the world in a click.

The ad by Exmo was in the form of a video that could be seen on the YouTube channel, Wingin’ It! Paul Lucas. The description of the video had text saying that people could save on trading commissions with Exmo as it had gotten temporary registration for conducting crypto-asset activities. The seventh ad that was banned on Wednesday was a page on Twitter for Coinburp. The crypto trading platform claimed that people could register with it in a minute, make instant deposits and then make secure and easy crypto trades.