The UK’s advertising watchdog, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), has banned two advertisements by the Premier League football club, Arsenal for its crypto-based fan token scheme.
The adverts for $AFC fan tokens were deemed by the ASA to be misleading fans over the risks of cryptocurrency investing. The first advert published on August 6th, 2021 described the token, and how it could be used within the Socios app.
Six days later, a second advert was uploaded on Facebook featuring Arsenal footballers Ben White, Calum Chambers and Kieran Tierney promoting the token, along with text that briefly detailed $AFC, the Chilliz ($CHZ) cryptocurrency and the Socios app.
“Took Advantage of Consumers’ Inexperience”
Despite an appeal lodged after the complaint last year, the ASA upheld its decision that the two adverts were “misleading because they failed to illustrate the risk of the investment,” and “irresponsible because they took advantage of consumers’ inexperience or credulity and trivialized engaging with and investing in crypto assets.”
Arsenal, who have finished behind their North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur for the last six seasons, initially appealed the decision, saying the warnings were enough and their audience was knowledgeable on crypto. The club also tried to argue the point that there was no regulatory basis to include information regarding capital gains taxes incurred from trading the tokens, despite them being crypto assets and, as such, subject to such rules.
However, the complaint was upheld and Arsenal’s appeal was rejected. The ASA stated the Arsenal ad was misleading “because it did not make clear that the tokens were crypto assets, which could only be obtained by opening a crypto assets exchange account, and in the case of paid-for fan tokens, required the purchase of another cryptocurrency.”
The UK advertising watchdog ruled that the adverts “must not appear again in the form complained about.”
The ASA also warned Arsenal:
– to make it clear that investments with paid-for fan tokens are subject to volatile markets and are unregulated crypto assets.
– not to mislead consumers by omitting material like the need to open a crypto assets exchange account and purchase various cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies
By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the networks which are used to authenticate blockchain technology. Cryptocurrencies can be thought of as systems that accept online payments which are denoted as “tokens.” Tokens are represented as internal ledger entries in blockchain technology while the term crypto is used to depict cryptographic methods and encryption algorithms such as public-private key pairs, various hashing functions, and an elliptical curve. Every cryptocurrency transaction that occurs is logged in a web-based ledger with blockchain technology.These then must be approved by a disparate network of individual nodes (computers that maintain a copy of the ledger). For every new block generated, the block must first be authenticated and confirmed ‘approved’ by each node, which makes forging the transactional history of cryptocurrencies nearly impossible. The World’s First CryptoBitcoin became the first blockchain-based cryptocurrency and to this day is still the most demanded cryptocurrency and the most valued. Bitcoin still contributes the majority of the overall cryptocurrency market volume, though several other cryptos have grown in popularity in recent years.Indeed, out of the wake of Bitcoin, iterations of Bitcoin became prevalent which resulted in a multitude of newly created or cloned cryptocurrencies. Contending cryptocurrencies that emerged after Bitcoin’s success is referred to as ‘altcoins’ and they refer to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Peercoin, Namecoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Stellar, and Dash. Cryptocurrencies promise a wide range of technological innovations that have yet to be structured into being. Simplified payments between two parties without the need for a middle man is one aspect while leveraging blockchain technology to minimize transaction and processing fees for banks is another. Of course, cryptocurrencies have their disadvantages too. This includes issues of tax evasion, money laundering, and other illicit online activities where anonymity is a dire ingredient in solicitous and fraudulent activities.
By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the networks which are used to authenticate blockchain technology. Cryptocurrencies can be thought of as systems that accept online payments which are denoted as “tokens.” Tokens are represented as internal ledger entries in blockchain technology while the term crypto is used to depict cryptographic methods and encryption algorithms such as public-private key pairs, various hashing functions, and an elliptical curve. Every cryptocurrency transaction that occurs is logged in a web-based ledger with blockchain technology.These then must be approved by a disparate network of individual nodes (computers that maintain a copy of the ledger). For every new block generated, the block must first be authenticated and confirmed ‘approved’ by each node, which makes forging the transactional history of cryptocurrencies nearly impossible. The World’s First CryptoBitcoin became the first blockchain-based cryptocurrency and to this day is still the most demanded cryptocurrency and the most valued. Bitcoin still contributes the majority of the overall cryptocurrency market volume, though several other cryptos have grown in popularity in recent years.Indeed, out of the wake of Bitcoin, iterations of Bitcoin became prevalent which resulted in a multitude of newly created or cloned cryptocurrencies. Contending cryptocurrencies that emerged after Bitcoin’s success is referred to as ‘altcoins’ and they refer to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Peercoin, Namecoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Stellar, and Dash. Cryptocurrencies promise a wide range of technological innovations that have yet to be structured into being. Simplified payments between two parties without the need for a middle man is one aspect while leveraging blockchain technology to minimize transaction and processing fees for banks is another. Of course, cryptocurrencies have their disadvantages too. This includes issues of tax evasion, money laundering, and other illicit online activities where anonymity is a dire ingredient in solicitous and fraudulent activities. Read this Term in order to buy the tokens.
– to make sure future ads are not trivialized by omitting risk warnings and taking advantage of consumers’ lack of experience with crypto.
The UK’s advertising watchdog, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), has banned two advertisements by the Premier League football club, Arsenal for its crypto-based fan token scheme.
The adverts for $AFC fan tokens were deemed by the ASA to be misleading fans over the risks of cryptocurrency investing. The first advert published on August 6th, 2021 described the token, and how it could be used within the Socios app.
Six days later, a second advert was uploaded on Facebook featuring Arsenal footballers Ben White, Calum Chambers and Kieran Tierney promoting the token, along with text that briefly detailed $AFC, the Chilliz ($CHZ) cryptocurrency and the Socios app.
“Took Advantage of Consumers’ Inexperience”
Despite an appeal lodged after the complaint last year, the ASA upheld its decision that the two adverts were “misleading because they failed to illustrate the risk of the investment,” and “irresponsible because they took advantage of consumers’ inexperience or credulity and trivialized engaging with and investing in crypto assets.”
Arsenal, who have finished behind their North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur for the last six seasons, initially appealed the decision, saying the warnings were enough and their audience was knowledgeable on crypto. The club also tried to argue the point that there was no regulatory basis to include information regarding capital gains taxes incurred from trading the tokens, despite them being crypto assets and, as such, subject to such rules.
However, the complaint was upheld and Arsenal’s appeal was rejected. The ASA stated the Arsenal ad was misleading “because it did not make clear that the tokens were crypto assets, which could only be obtained by opening a crypto assets exchange account, and in the case of paid-for fan tokens, required the purchase of another cryptocurrency.”
The UK advertising watchdog ruled that the adverts “must not appear again in the form complained about.”
The ASA also warned Arsenal:
– to make it clear that investments with paid-for fan tokens are subject to volatile markets and are unregulated crypto assets.
– not to mislead consumers by omitting material like the need to open a crypto assets exchange account and purchase various cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies
By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the networks which are used to authenticate blockchain technology. Cryptocurrencies can be thought of as systems that accept online payments which are denoted as “tokens.” Tokens are represented as internal ledger entries in blockchain technology while the term crypto is used to depict cryptographic methods and encryption algorithms such as public-private key pairs, various hashing functions, and an elliptical curve. Every cryptocurrency transaction that occurs is logged in a web-based ledger with blockchain technology.These then must be approved by a disparate network of individual nodes (computers that maintain a copy of the ledger). For every new block generated, the block must first be authenticated and confirmed ‘approved’ by each node, which makes forging the transactional history of cryptocurrencies nearly impossible. The World’s First CryptoBitcoin became the first blockchain-based cryptocurrency and to this day is still the most demanded cryptocurrency and the most valued. Bitcoin still contributes the majority of the overall cryptocurrency market volume, though several other cryptos have grown in popularity in recent years.Indeed, out of the wake of Bitcoin, iterations of Bitcoin became prevalent which resulted in a multitude of newly created or cloned cryptocurrencies. Contending cryptocurrencies that emerged after Bitcoin’s success is referred to as ‘altcoins’ and they refer to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Peercoin, Namecoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Stellar, and Dash. Cryptocurrencies promise a wide range of technological innovations that have yet to be structured into being. Simplified payments between two parties without the need for a middle man is one aspect while leveraging blockchain technology to minimize transaction and processing fees for banks is another. Of course, cryptocurrencies have their disadvantages too. This includes issues of tax evasion, money laundering, and other illicit online activities where anonymity is a dire ingredient in solicitous and fraudulent activities.
By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the networks which are used to authenticate blockchain technology. Cryptocurrencies can be thought of as systems that accept online payments which are denoted as “tokens.” Tokens are represented as internal ledger entries in blockchain technology while the term crypto is used to depict cryptographic methods and encryption algorithms such as public-private key pairs, various hashing functions, and an elliptical curve. Every cryptocurrency transaction that occurs is logged in a web-based ledger with blockchain technology.These then must be approved by a disparate network of individual nodes (computers that maintain a copy of the ledger). For every new block generated, the block must first be authenticated and confirmed ‘approved’ by each node, which makes forging the transactional history of cryptocurrencies nearly impossible. The World’s First CryptoBitcoin became the first blockchain-based cryptocurrency and to this day is still the most demanded cryptocurrency and the most valued. Bitcoin still contributes the majority of the overall cryptocurrency market volume, though several other cryptos have grown in popularity in recent years.Indeed, out of the wake of Bitcoin, iterations of Bitcoin became prevalent which resulted in a multitude of newly created or cloned cryptocurrencies. Contending cryptocurrencies that emerged after Bitcoin’s success is referred to as ‘altcoins’ and they refer to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Peercoin, Namecoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Stellar, and Dash. Cryptocurrencies promise a wide range of technological innovations that have yet to be structured into being. Simplified payments between two parties without the need for a middle man is one aspect while leveraging blockchain technology to minimize transaction and processing fees for banks is another. Of course, cryptocurrencies have their disadvantages too. This includes issues of tax evasion, money laundering, and other illicit online activities where anonymity is a dire ingredient in solicitous and fraudulent activities. Read this Term in order to buy the tokens.
– to make sure future ads are not trivialized by omitting risk warnings and taking advantage of consumers’ lack of experience with crypto.
