There is no way you step out in London and not spot a cryptocurrency advertisement on a billboard, subway, or public bus. London has a record of placing over 40,000 crypto ads by different exchanges, tokens, coins, among others.
In 2021 alone, London’s public transport stations (bus and train) displayed an impressive 39,560 crypto ads from 13 different companies. Going by the numbers, London has recorded the highest number of crypto ads displayed in public anywhere around the world.
Companies such as Binance, CoinFloor, Coinbase, eToro, Crypto.com, Luno Exchange, among others placed ads across London urging people to invest in cryptos. Tokens such as Floki, among others placed ads on public trains, buses, and stations. The ads read “Missed Doge? Get Floki” giving an impression that Floki will be the next big thing.
However, the London city council isn’t impressed with the ads and regularly took them down citing fraud and trading addiction. The United Kingdom’s Finance Minister Rishi Sunak has repeatedly hit out at Bitcoin and other cryptos in his statements and interviews.
Rishi suggested that the UK should create its own digital coin ‘Britcoin’ and wipe out other cryptos in the country. Also, the Bank of England and the treasury are currently looking into his proposal.
Apart from Rishi Sunak, politician Siân Berry from the Green Party of England asked for a complete ban on crypto ads. London’s Mayor, Sadiq Khan isn’t a fan of crypto either and had promised a total ban on gambling adverts. Other politicians hailed his remarks and urged him to include crypto as gambling. However, Khan is yet to keep his promise and has not gone ahead with banning gambling adverts, yet.
Many Crypto Ads Have Been Banned in London
In March 2021, London city watchdog banned an advertisement from crypto exchange firm Coinfloor. They placed a full-page ad on a daily saying, “there is no point in keeping your money in the bank”. The ad also stated that Bitcoin is equitant to “digital gold”.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) came down heavily on the ad and banned it. The ASA said in a statement that the ad “irresponsibly suggested that purchasing Bitcoin represented a secure investment of one’s savings or pension”.
ASA also sent a warning to others saying, “Marketers should not imply that cryptocurrencies are regulated by the [Financial Conduct Authority]. It also warned companies to not take advantage of customers’ “inexperience or credulity” to lure them to invest in cryptos.
“Because cryptocurrencies are so volatile, even including a disclaimer in the small print of an ad might not be enough to comply with the CAP Code [which governs non-broadcast advertising],” their statement read.