Transport for London (TfL) has been urged to ban cryptocurrency adverts. After posters for the meme coin Floki appeared in the Underground and on buses, calls have been made to ban all ads for unregulated financial products.
The advert read “Missed Doge? Get Floki.” The developers are currently identified – the website for the crypto carries no contact information for anyone involved.
With cryptocurrencies still unregulated in the UK, it can sometimes be difficult to tell which are legitimate coins and which are fraudulent “pump and dump” schemes. Many different cryptocurrencies have been launched recently, some of which come from dubious sources. There is a lot of pioneering to be done in this sector, but there are also many pitfalls that need to be avoided.
Floki is named for Elon Musk’s dog, and appears to be a spin-off of popular meme coin Dogecoin, the latter being named for the Doge meme.
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority is clear on where they stand in regard to unregulated crypto. A spokesperson said: “The FCA has continually warned of the risks of cryptoassets. If people invest in these types of product, they should be prepared to lose all their money and they are unlikely to have access to any redress or compensation schemes.”
TfL has insisted that they are within guidelines for promotional guidelines. The head of commercial media at TFL, Chris Reader, said: “Since 2018, we have asked our advertising partners to refer all cryptocurrency advertising to us for review prior to it running on our estate. When reviewing copy now from cryptocurrency brands who wish to advertise on our estate, we ensure that campaigns contain sufficient information to comply with both our policy and the ASA ruling.”
Affiliates and affiliate managers who deal with cryptocurrencies need to be careful here. With the rise of crypto schemes and scams, all who advertise crypto need to ensure that they do the research to ensure that the platforms they promote are legitimate. There also needs to be an emphasis on ensuring that campaigns are compliant with all guidelines.
