The crypto crackdown is here. The Securities and Exchange Commission kept up with the Kardashians.
The crypto crackdown has come for Kim Kardashian.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Monday that the queen of influencers did a little too much influencing when it came to the EthereumMax (EMAX) token, which Kardashian promoted on her Instagram in June 2021. She’s agreed to pay $1.26 million and not promote crypto securities for the next three years.
The settlement shows that the SEC is ready, willing, and able to go after celebrity crypto endorsers. Many of them made plenty of money promoting what ended up being shady crypto schemes that quickly collapsed, leaving investors (often their own fans) with empty pockets.
SEC chair Gary Gensler did a little social media influencing of his own, announcing the settlement with a tweet that included a video of him warning people about celebrity endorsements of investments.
That tweet may well serve as a warning to the celebrities themselves, too. Gensler has made no secret of his desire to go after the loosely regulated and highly volatile world of crypto investments.
