Advertisements for Floki Inu, named after Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s dog, was seen on subway trains and buses. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the UK’s advertising watchdog, said it is “reviewing a large body of adverts in this industry” to see if they violate the regulations. The ads were “legally cleared,” according to Floki Inu.
The firm informed the BBC that “these adverts also feature a clear notice noting the volatility of cryptocurrency.” Floki Inu advertisements, which appeared across the capital, were to tempt investors with the slogan “Missed doge? Attain Floki “, as the popularity of Dogecoin has grown. Dogecoin began as a sarcastic joke centered on the Shiba Inu dog from the Doge meme, but it has now grown to have a potential total value of billions of dollars.
Part of the concern regarding Floki Inu stemmed from the fact that very little was revealed over who’s behind the initiative, and also, the website only provided limited information. “Not highlighting team members on our website was our deliberate decision, i.e., to make it apparent that Floki is the people’s crypto coin and a movement centered on them,” Floki Inu told the BBC.
It claimed that its “legal company” was located in Georgia and had informed “strategic partners” of this during get-to-know-your-customer checks. “The Floki team isn’t fully anonymous as is being stated,” the email said, adding, “But a few of our team members choose to stay anonymous temporarily since they don’t want the diversions and security concerns.”
Warning
The Floki Inu commercials are contentious. Despite the statement indicating that the value of investments could decline and that cryptocurrencies were uncontrolled in the UK, some legislators believed that Transport for London (TfL), the capital’s public transportation system just shouldn’t have welcomed them. “It should have raised red flags because someone at TfL should’ve just looked at this before it was authorized,” Sian Berry, member of Green Party London Assembly, told the Guardian.
The Mayor’s office state that “TfL is emailing to the ASA and FCA to inquire for their thoughts on the issues being highlighted.” “The fight against these adverts by a single political party is a war against crypto and people’s freedom of choice – a clear effort at censorship,” the statement reads. Floki Inu wrote to the BBC in an email. “There were no substantial public objections concerning cryptocurrency advertisements,” says the TfL.
Advertisers must disclose that the cryptocurrency is unlicensed; hence its value may decline. “We’ll discuss the issues raised with the ASA and FCA to get their viewpoint as we assess what action could be required,” said the ASA. TfL stated. TfL said that since 2018, it has demanded that all cryptocurrency advertisements be forwarded to it for evaluation “before airing on our estate.”
Get rich quick
The ASA recently prohibited a TfL advertisement for the cryptocurrency exchange Luno that said, “It’s time to buy” crypto. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) claimed to the BBC that it was looking into several cryptocurrencies advertisements, such as those for Floki Inu, across “multiple media spaces,” not just TfL.” “We’ll investigate whether these ads break our guidelines and utilize the information to improve our oversight in this area,” the authority added.
Adverts must “avoid terminology that is difficult for its audience to grasp or enjoy the benefits of their lack of understanding; and correctly determine risk, underlining that price of an asset is changeable and could go down as well as up,” according to the report. It went on to say that crypto was a “red alert area” for the firm. Other agencies are likewise apprehensive about the promotion of cryptocurrency. Charles Randell chastised influencers in September, chairman of the Financial Services Authority, accusing them of fostering “delusions of rapid riches.”