Spain has announced new rules on how social media influencers and others can advertise cryptocurrency assets, Reuters reports. Starting next month, the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) of Spain will require individuals and companies to notify it at least 10 days before carrying out cryptoactive campaigns. The rules apply to influencers with more than 100,000 subscribers who are paid to promote cryptocurrency, a practice that draws criticism and even lawsuits around the world.
According to Reuters, cryptocurrency advertisers must disclose to the CNMV the content of their upcoming campaigns and must include warnings about the risks of what they sell. The rules are designed to allow the CNMV to control the marketing ecosystem around crypto assets and ensure that audiences are aware of the risks.
The CNMV has previously used social media to throw cold water on the cryptocurrency hype. in November replied to a tweet of professional soccer player Andrรฉs Iniesta after he enthusiastically promoted the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, warning him that โcrypto assets, being unregulated products, carry some significant risks.โ (It was unclear if Iniesta had been paid for his promotion.)
Cryptocurrencies and social media advertising are areas with significant regulatory ambiguity, and the combination has sometimes proven problematic. Earlier this month, a targeted proposed class action lawsuit Kim Kardashian, boxer Floyd Mayweather, and others for promoting the EthereumMax coin, driving its price up dramatically before the asset plummeted to almost worthlessness. The new CNMV rules will not prevent influencers from informing their followers about cryptocurrencies, but they will allow the agency to keep a closer eye on exactly what is being offered.
