Kim Kardashian Pays Over $1 Million To Pay Crypto Instagram Ad Fees
Kim Kardashian’s crypto debacle has landed her in hot water with federal regulators.
The reality TV superstar and influencer has settled Securities and Exchange Commission charges that she failed to disclose a payment she received for featuring a crypto asset on her Instagram feed, the agency announced on October 3.
“This case is a reminder that when celebrities or influencers endorse investment opportunities, including crypto-asset securities, that doesn’t mean those investment products are right for all investors,” SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said in a press release.
Kardashian, who is reportedly worth $1.8 billion, agreed to pay $1.26 million to settle allegations of a campaign on Meta’s Instagram for EthereumMax’s crypto assets, the SEC said. She will also cooperate with an ongoing investigation, and has agreed not to market cryptocurrencies for three years, the regulator added.
Kardashian, who has built a media and lifestyle empire, neither admitted nor denied the regulator’s findings, the SEC said.
In a statement, an attorney for Kardashian said she is pleased to have resolved the case.
“Kardashian fully cooperated with the SEC from the very beginning, and she remains willing to do whatever she can to assist the SEC in this matter. She wanted to get this matter behind her to avoid a protracted dispute. The agreement she reached with the SEC allows her to do so so that she can move forward with her many different business activities, the statement said.
Kardashian has already felt regulatory heat over her EthereumMax promo, which she posted on Instagram last June. She started the post by asking her millions of followers: “ARE YOU INTO CRYPTO??? THIS IS NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE BUT TO SHARE WHAT MY FRIENDS JUST TOLD ME ABOUT THE ETHEREUM MAX TOKEN.”
Investors sued her, former NBA star Paul Pierce and superstar boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. earlier this year due to their promotions for EthereumMax, accusing them of artificially inflating the value of the asset.
The SEC on Monday said Kardashian failed to report that she was paid $250,000 to publish a post about EMAX tokens, a crypto asset offered by EthereumMax. The post, which contained the hashtag “#ad”, included a link to the EthereumMax website, which provides users with instructions on how to buy tokens, the regulator added.
Her failure to disclose the payment was a violation of federal securities laws, the SEC said. She agreed to pay $260,000, which includes the payment she received, plus interest, in addition to the $1 million penalty, the agency added.
This story originally appeared on CNBC.com.
