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Crypto Weekly

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UK's Advertising Watchdog Bans two Crypto.com Promotions for Being Misleading and Irresponsible

ƒ Two Crypto.com promos have been banned by the UK's advertising watchdog because they misled consumers. ƒ These were considered irresponsible and exploited consumers' inexperience or credulity, according to the regulator. ƒ Crypto.com responded to each claim and stated that the ads had been "voluntarily removed" after learning of the regulator's concerns.

Two Crypto.com promotions were banned by the UK's advertising watchdog Wednesday for misleading consumers. First, an ad appeared in September 2021 in the Daily Mail app that said: "Buy Bitcoin instantly with a credit card." The second ad appeared in July 2021 in the Love Balls app and stated: "Earn up to 3.5% p.a.," although the fine print said 8.5%.

Both ads were deemed misleading by the Advertising Standards Authority because they failed to illustrate the risks of investment, and irresponsible as they exploited consumers' inexperience and credulity. The regulator also noted that the first ad failed to mention that purchasing crypto with credit cards has certain limitations.

Similarly, the second ad failed to elaborate on the method for calculating the earnings forecast, the ASA said. Crypto.com responded to the ASA and said the ads had been "voluntarily removed" after learning of the regulator's concerns. A representative of Crypto.com said, "We thank the Advertising Standards Authority for its collaborative dialogue and engaged participation regarding advertising in the UK in this relatively new industry, and we look forward to continuing to be in compliance with regulatory authorities around the world."

The Singapore crypto platform defended its first advertisement, saying it was promoting the speed at which users could buy crypto. Regarding the second ad, Crypto. com said it was referring to the yield crypto holders can generate, not the crypto itself. The risks associated with investing in crypto are well known to existing customers.

Cryptocurrencies soared to a $3 trillion industry at one point in 2021 as governments around the world stepped up their enforcement. ASA banned ads for soccer club Arsenal's fan token in December, calling the ads "irresponsible" for not highlighting the risks associated with crypto. Six crypto-related firms, including Coinbase, Kraken, and eToro, were also challenged on December 15 for alleged advertising violations.

As part of a Crypto.com campaign last year, actor Matt Damon appeared in a series of ads in October. As well, Crypto. com purchased naming rights to the iconic Staples Center in Los Angeles, renaming it the Crypto.com Arena for the next two decades. 

Crypto Weekly

In the near future, Bitcoin's correction could go 'parabolic,' says Peter Brandt

Tokens for the Solana ecosystem are close to being listed on Coinbase: sources

The recent crypto sell-off may simply be a dip within a longterm uptrend. This is according to chartist Peter Brandt, CEO of Factor LLC, a research and trading firm. When asked what it would take for Bitcoin (BTC) to get to $200,000, Brandt said, "I think it's going to take a market that's going to go up on a parabolic basis – and that's what Bitcoin has done."

Bitcoin was trading around $37,000 at press time and is down 45% from its all-time high near $69,000 reached in November 2021. The sharp sell-off accelerated as some traders were forced to liquidate long positions over the past week.

"We haven't seen the volume increase we've seen in previous short-term bottoms in Bitcoin," Brandt said on CoinDesk's "First Mover" show on Tuesday. An increase in trading volume on price dips typically indicates sellers' capitulation. Brandt predicts a washout below $30,000 and down to $27,000 is likely, which could lead to further downside.

"We can get a sellers panic within the next 30 to 60 days," Brandt said. For now, BTC is locked within a tight price range between $33,000 and $42,000 and has been trading in lockstep with equities. "After we've seen a 50% decline in Bitcoin, now is the time to start recommitting to a long-term narrative," Brandt said. 

Tokens for the Solana ecosystem are ready to be traded on Coinbase's trading rails. CoinDesk spoke with four people familiar with the plans.

According to people familiar with the matter, the U.S. crypto exchange plans to offer withdrawals of SPL tokens - Solana's answer to Ethereum's ERC-20. USDC, which is native to Solana and has a circulating supply of $4.8 billion, is also expected to be included. These features may be available shortly.

Coinbase is likely to announce a major development in its token onboarding strategy with the listing of SPL tokens. Based on a review of its listings, it has only listed Ethereum-based coins and Layer 1 blockchain assets, including Algorand (ALGO) and Cosmos (ATOM). Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong stated in June 2021 that the company would list all assets where it was legal to do so, a goal that increasingly requires moving beyond Ether.

Solana's ecosystem of decentralized finance (DeFi) coins is still relatively small in terms of market value - for exchanges, staking protocols, and more. The largest SPL token based on the same metric is Serum (SRM), valued at $281 million, according to Coinbase. Shiba inu (SHIB) and Chainlink (LINK) are Ethereum-based tokens with market capitalizations exceeding $10 billion.

The first regions where Coinbase plans to offer trading were not immediately clear, nor which SPL tokens Coinbase will offer initially. 