The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the United Kingdom has banned an advertising campaign for the new altcoin Floki Inu, a derivative of the popular Shiba Inu altcoin which, in turn, stems from the popular digital meme currency Dogecoin. In other words, the ASA has a problem with Doge’s grandchild.
The ASA Takes Aim at Floki Inu
Floki Inu is named after Floki, the little Shiba Inu pup of South African billionaire and entrepreneur Elon Musk. Primarily known for his work with companies like Tesla and SpaceX, Musk has become a huge advocate for bitcoin and other digital currencies in recent years.
The ASA claims that Floki Inu is a shady digital currency that has allegedly taken advantage of traders and failed to explain the true risks that come with investing in crypto. The ASA had a particular aversion to posters being used to advertise Floki that featured a cartoon dog wearing a Viking helmet. The posters say that people who missed out on making profits through other cryptocurrencies should consider Floki so that they can catch up.
The posters read:
Missed Doge? Get Floki.
While the advertisements mention in fine print that crypto investments can go “down as well as up” and that digital assets aren’t regulated in the United Kingdom, the ASA is claiming that this is not enough to get past its radar. In a statement, the organization claims that the advertisements are trivializing the risks involved with crypto investments and that it is exploiting people’s FOMO or “fear of missing out.” The agency also says that the posters are banking on a lack of knowledge amongst new traders.
The ASA says:
We considered that the use of cartoon imagery gave the impression that purchasing cryptocurrency was a lighthearted and trivial matter. As such, it distracted consumers from the seriousness of an investment which was volatile and unregulated… We considered that the ad took advantage of consumers’ inexperience or credulity. We therefore concluded the ad was irresponsible and breached the code. We told Floki Inu to ensure that they did not irresponsibly exploit consumers’ fear of missing out and trivialize investment in cryptocurrency.
Why Is Crypto Attracting So Much Negative Press?
Cryptocurrency appears to have become the primary focus of governments around the world over the past year or so. On one hand, this is positive in that it shows just how mainstream the industry has become, though there are negative turns as well given that many of these governments are seeking to place barriers or limitations on the growing space.
The United States, for example, unveiled a new trillion-dollar infrastructure bill last summer that ultimately only saw nine percent of funds being delivered to infrastructure-related projects. Instead, the bill contained a lot of sneaky verbiage designed to take aim at crypto investors and their digital stashes.
Source: Read Full Article