The SEC Chairman took to Twitter this morning, posting that the SEC charged Kim Kardashian for unlawfully touting a crypto security. He also embedded a semi cringe-worthy SEC-produced video warning investors about influencers and celebrities who promote cryptocurrencies and other products/services.
Today @SECGov, we charged Kim Kardashian for unlawfully touting a crypto security.
This case is a reminder that, when celebrities / influencers endorse investment opps, including crypto asset securities, it doesn’t mean those investment products are right for all investors.
— Gary Gensler (@GaryGensler) October 3, 2022
Kim Kardashian is hardly the first or last person to be under the SEC’s radar and fists of justice. Last month, an influencer (Ian Balina) is accused by the SEC of an unregistered offering and promotion of a crypto asset security called SPRK tokens.
Long story short, Balina is accused of a crypto pamp and damp that occurred in 2018. 2017 and 2018, if you don’t know, are when ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings) were the big thing. Massive amounts of fraud occurred inside and outside the US.
Sort of like the NFT market today.
Many may consider the SEC an enemy of the crypto space, but at least they (SEC) are aggressively going after some of the worst actors in the space. And no one would probably disagree that some of these crooks deserve all that’s coming to them.
And if the SEC is just now targeting one dude for a $30 million pamp and damp – who else is on their radar that might think they’ve gotten away scot-free after nearly five years?
Kim Kardashian now joins Floyd Mayweather, Steven Segal (lol), and DJ KHALED as celebrities the SEC has targeted over crypto promoting.