Cryptocurrency, Scandals, Celebrities: the Crypto World and Show Business

We’re accustomed to associating cryptocurrencies solely with the realms of economics, entrepreneurship, innovative technologies, and AI. For the most part, this holds true — although blockchain was created as a means to simplify economic life for everyone, it gained the most popularity among analysts, developers, and programmers. Nevertheless, at some point, the attention of all layers of society became drawn to the crypto space — being “crypto-savvy” became fashionable.

Could global celebrities, lovers of publicity and gossip, ignore such a rich topic? In this new article, we’ll talk about stars caught up in crypto scandals and under the scrutiny of US regulators.

Cryptocurrencies and Celebrities: What Links Them?

We can identify two main reasons explaining the sudden interest in cryptocurrencies by some famous figures who previously showed no interest in either finances or high technology:

1. Attention to oneself
2. Profit

Point 1: Self-Promotion

To avoid fading into obscurity and losing their fame, power, and recognition, stars have to constantly remind people of their presence. Some do this through their creativity, releasing music tracks, albums, presenting movies, etc., while others through scandals. In both cases, it’s important to be relevant to the current agenda — then people will definitely talk about and remember you.

Cryptocurrency is currently more relevant than ever. Even a single well-timed mention on X (ex. Twitter) can elevate one’s significance in the eyes of the audience: wow, they’re trending. However, it’s advisable to do this without deceit, because when the deception is exposed, instead of gaining a new audience, law enforcement agencies will come knocking.

Point 2: Money

It’s no secret that at the dawn of Bitcoin’s (BTC) rise, one could secure a comfortable existence for many years ahead with a savvy investment. Today, getting rich through cryptocurrencies is still possible, but it requires meticulous work with constant involvement. Although, if you’re a media personality, you can take a different path.

Last summer, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against actress Lindsay Lohan, musician Austin Mahone, and several other well-known names for their involvement in the unlawful promotion of cryptocurrencies. According to official data, celebrities promoted the crypto assets Tron (TRX) and BitTorrent (BTT) while hiding the fact that they were being paid handsomely for it.

The participants in the scandal themselves were also hit with fines totaling around $400,000 by the SEC.

SEC vs. Kim Kardashian

It seems like no scandal in the last 20 years passes without involving the Kardashian family. The main socialite has already made a profit from cryptocurrencies — last year, she paid the SEC $1.26 million in fines, compensation, and debt repayment, making her fans and haters talk about her again.

Kim was caught distributing illegal advertisements for the cryptocurrency security EthereumMax. The EMAX token developers presented it to the world as a solution to the problems of cryptocurrency popularization. Additionally, the star remained silent about the amounts of compensation she received from the company for her successful work.

The star made just one promotional post on Instagram, and EthereumMax stocks immediately soared. According to Morning Consult, over 20% of all adult Americans saw that advertisement, with about half of them being crypto investors. Kim’s publicity served its purpose — 19% of those who saw Kardashian’s post eventually decided to invest in EthereumMax.

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler commented on this situation as follows: “This case is a reminder that, when celebrities or influencers endorse investment opportunities, including crypto asset securities, it doesn’t mean that those investment products are right for all investors”. “

Consequences

Even without a couple of such scandals, the shaky authority of the crypto industry was under threat. The SEC became even more critical, investors became more skittish, and ordinary users, who were not yet fully enamored with crypto, became even more skeptical. After Kardashian’s scandal, some users turned away from the crypto sector, associating it with a fraudulent environment.

There is also a flip side: scandalous stories shed light on the risks of the crypto sector. Users continuing to work with cryptocurrencies have become more careful in selecting projects for investment and not succumbing to the influence of loud advertising campaigns.

Conclusion

Cryptocurrencies continue to gain popularity in society, increasingly transforming from “geek technology” into almost a fashionable modern attribute of a successful life. Media influencers took advantage of the buzz around decentralized assets, but the result was controversial: many managed to tarnish both their reputation and the reputation of the crypto community.

The examples discussed once again prove that cryptocurrency has become a trend. This means that the mission laid down by Satoshi Nakamoto over 15 years ago continues to be realized. Cryptocurrencies are indeed penetrating deeper into the information space and into the daily lives of society — largely thanks to advertising. And advertising from global celebrities, opinion leaders, and major influencers, for valid reasons, is most effective.

If you want to learn more interesting facts about crypto then check out our blog! You might like our articles “BTC Pre-Halving Price Analysis” and “What Are Vested Tokens?”.

The easiest way to buy, sell or exchange coins is to use SimpleSwap services.

SimpleSwap reminds you that this article is provided for informational purposes only and does not provide investment advice. All purchases and cryptocurrency investments are your own responsibility.

Previously published on our Publish0x blog.