The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged $1.26M to Kim Kardashian for social media promotion of a cryptocurrency offered by EthereumMax (EMAX).
Kim Kardashian failed to disclose the payment she received for promoting EMAX.
Ryan Huegerich and many other claimants filed a class-action lawsuit against Kim Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather Jr, and Paul Pierce in a California district court, for promoting an Ethereum knockoff, Ethereum Max (EMAX), according to a lawsuit filed on January 7.
https://finbold.com/lawsuit-filed-against-kim-kardashian-for-promoting-bogus-cryptocurrency-to-her-followers/
At least, “not financial advice” is not a disclaimer of promoting crypto of any kind.
Kim’s influence did make the unknown token become an investment asset as a result:
A striking 19% of respondents who said they heard about the post invested in EthereumMax as a result.
And she claimed to make more money than an entire season of her reality television show that further demonstrating her involvement in the promotion marking:
While it is unclear what the precise terms of the financial compensation that Defendant Kardashian was given by the Executive Defendants, Defendant Kardashian routinely gets paid between $300,000 and $1 million for most promotional posts.
According to the filed
EthereumMax has no connection to the second largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum. This name association appears to be an effort by the Company and the Executive Defendants to mislead investors into believing that the EMAX Tokens were a part of the Ethereum network (when they are not). It would be akin to marketing a restaurant as “McDonald’sMax” when it had no affiliation with McDonald’s other than the name similarity and the fact that both companies sell food products.
is to build a robust and scalable ecosystem that fully maximizes the power of DeFi, creating a wide range of products for our community that encompasses everything from a deflationary token and a core stablecoin for processing payments to curing edge NFTs and exclusive events for our community, according to its
Of course, it sounds just like BS. This type of token puts every buzz words together that means nothing.
court document further approved this assumption:
In plain terms, EthereumMax’s entire business model relies on using constant marketing and promotional activities, often from “trusted” celebrities, to dupe potential investors into trusting the financial opportunities available with EMAX Tokens.
If you check their source code, no devs are working, and codes are forked from open-source codes as usual.
And after dumping and rug-pulling investors, the token majority still controlled by creator(s).
https://etherscan.io/token/tokenholderchart/0x15874d65e649880c2614e7a480cb7c9a55787ff6
Pump and Dump
Following the EMAX Token’s launch and Defendants’ promotional activities in May 2021, the trading volume and price of EthereumMax surged. By May 30, EMAX already had a transaction volume of over $100 million, up 632% in just two weeks. The day before, it reached its maximum price of $0.000000863, which represents a rise of 1,370% more than its initial price of $0.00000005875.
However, this meteoric rise did not last long, and EthereumMax began to deflate immediately after Defendant Kardashian’s post. On July 15, the price of the EMAX Token hit its all-time low: $0.000000017 per unit, a 98% drop from which it has not been able to recover. On August 1, its transaction volume plummeted to $157,423, which is less than a hundredth of its initial capital.
https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ethereummax/
The result is the price will never get recover.
Celebrities' promotion of crypto in the future
This is to set a precedence for the SCE to prohibit celebrities and social influencers promote unsecured cryptocurrencies.
“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,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “We encourage investors to consider an investment’s potential risks and opportunities in light of their own financial goals.”
“Ms. Kardashian’s case also serves as a reminder to celebrities and others that the law requires them to disclose to the public when and how much they are paid to promote investing in securities,” Chair Gensler added.
“The federal securities laws are clear that any celebrity or other individual who promotes a crypto asset security must disclose the nature, source, and amount of compensation they received in exchange for the promotion,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “Investors are entitled to know whether the publicity of a security is unbiased, and Ms. Kardashian failed to disclose this information.”
Moral hazard or not, the SCE does make crypto space a better space.
Support writer or join Medium
Note: the post was shared on multiple platformsYou can refer my previous article lists
------------------------
2022 Prediction
2022 Prediction #1: L1 Scalability
2022 Prediction #2: L2 Bridges
2022 Prediction #3: Zero-Knowledge Proofs or ZKPs
2022 Prediction #4: Regulated Defi On-Chain KYC
2022 Prediction #5: Institutional Crypto Adoption
2022 Prediction #6: Defi Insurance
2022 Prediction #7: NFTs-Based Communities - DAO 1.5
2022 Prediction #8: Metaverse and NFTs
2022 Prediction #9: Web2 Companies’ FOMO
2022 Prediction #10: Time for DAO 2.0
------------------------
DAO The Way
DAO The Way Part 12
DAO The Way Part 13
------------------------
Learn How To Defi
------------------------
Crypto Comics
Crypto Comics - Who is Satoshi
Crypto Comics - What is Wallet
Crypto Comics - What is Coinbase
Crypto Comics - What is A Block
Crypto Comics - What is DeFi-2
Crypto Comics - What is Yearn Finance
Crypto Comics - What is Cold Wallet
Crypto Comics - What is Hot Wallet
Crypto Comics - What is Airdrop
Crypto Comics - What is Bagholder
Crypto Comics - What is Decentralization
Crypto Comics - What is Wallet Address
Crypto Comics - What is Plagiarism in Web3
Crypto Comics - What is Bart Pattern
Crypto Comics - What is Encryption
Crypto Comics - What is Consensus
Crypto Comics - What is Protocol
Crypto Comics - What is Stablecoin
Crypto Comics - What is ApeCoin
Crypto Comics - What is Tokenomics
Crypto Comics - What is APR
Crypto Comics - What is to The Moon
------------------------
Learn Web3 in 100 Days
Learn Web3 in 100 Days - #1 What is the Internet and How Relevant to Web3
Learn Web3 in 100 Days - Day 2: What are the Browsers and Servers
Learn Web3 in 100 Days - Day 3: What are HTTP Status Code
Learn Web3 in 100 Days - Day 4: HTML and CSS and JS
Learn Web3 in 100 Days - Day 5: What is programming
Learn Web3 in 100 Days - Day 6: Markup, Elements, Tags, and Hyperlinks
Learn Web3 in 100 Days - Day 7: Style Your Web
Learn Web3 in 100 Days - Day 8: JS
Learn Web3 in 100 Days - Day 9: SQL
Learn Web3 in 100 Days - Day 10: Front-End
Learn Web3 in 100 Days - Day 11: Front-End Framework
Learn Web3 in 100 Days - Day 12: More HTML
------------------------
Modern Economic Nonsense
Modern Economic Nonsense - Inflation and Incentives
Modern Economical Nonsense - The Astrologist's Way
Modern Economical Nonsense - The VUCA World
Modern Economical Nonsense - Zug Tax and How to Run your Own Monopoly
Modern Economical Nonsense - Participatory Economy
Modern Economical Nonsense - Economic Models
Modern Economical Nonsense - Tokenomic Models
Modern Economical Nonsense - Design A Reputation-Based System
Modern Economical Nonsense — The Money Problem
Modern Economical Nonsense — The Treasury Problem
Modern Economic Nonsense — Bitcoin vs. Real Estate
Modern Economic Nonsense — A very long term view
Modern Economic Nonsense — Banking Collapse
Modern Economic Nonsense — A Wall Street Legend
Modern Economic Nonsense — A Modern Alchemy
Modern Economic Nonsense — Founder goes ghosting
Modern Economic Nonsense — Anonymous cool or fool
Modern Economic Nonsense — The market volatility
Modern Economic Nonsense — The money shortage
Modern Economic Nonsense — The web3 scams or not
Modern Economic Nonsense — All about debts
Modern Economic Nonsense — Metaverse is still relevant or not
Modern Economic Nonsense — A Show of Recession
Modern Economic Nonsense — A Myth of Valuation
Modern Economic Nonsense — Inflation becomes irrelevant
Modern Economic Nonsense — A journey of money laundering
Modern Economic Nonsense — Consumer Sentiment Might Be Low
Modern Economic Nonsense — Is payment technology still relevant in high inflation environment
Modern Economic Nonsense — Recession is coming
Modern Economic Nonsense — We are at the bear market, now what
Modern Economic Nonsense — Invest like a cat
Modern Economic Nonsense — Bitcoin leads the market recovery
Modern Economic Nonsense — The dollar is dying slowly
Modern Economic Nonsense — The current stock market wants to go back to 2019 but ignore the technological solution of the future
Modern Economic Nonsense — Today's fear, tomorrow's cheer
Modern Economic Nonsense — An engineering recession
Modern Economic Nonsense — The market is broadening rug pull everyone
Modern Economic Nonsense — The self-fulfilling recession
Modern Economic Nonsense — Crypto is changing the advertisement business
Modern Economic Nonsense — Blockchain phone
Modern Economic Nonsense — Next generation of wealth
Modern Economic Nonsense — Crypto winter prolonged with high inflation persists
Modern Economic Nonsense — The era of currency debasement
Modern Economic Nonsense — What if the Fed gets inflation all wrong
Modern Economic Nonsense — The Bitcoin apocalypse is coming
Modern Economic Nonsense — The Bitcoin reserve is coming
Modern Economic Nonsense — Payment apps move away from the fiat currency
Modern Economic Nonsense — Web3 continues building despite the bear market
Modern Economic Nonsense — Banks are seeking shelter in cryptocurrencies
Modern Economic Nonsense — Inclusive blockchain
Modern Economic Nonsense — Time to reinvent cryptocurrencies
Modern Economic Nonsense — Crypto companies' bankruptcy wave is healthy
Modern Economic Nonsense — The Bitcoin mining company is not profitable
Modern Economic Nonsense — Crypto attracts more talents in the current market
Modern Economic Nonsense — Why Bitcoin Maximalism will fail
Modern Economic Nonsense — Gaming culture and crypto
Modern Economic Nonsense — Global crypto regulations are coming
Modern Economic Nonsense — Decentralization may not work as everyone expects it would
Modern Economic Nonsense — Government opens ideas to the public about cryptocurrencies
------------------------
Random Thoughts
The latest crypto secret weapon - Hyper-personalize shopping
Russia Prohibits Crypto as a Legal Payment (What are the Consequences?)
Cyber criminals using crypto mixing services are booming
The Next Frontier of Gaming: Introducing the Metaverse
Crypto VC becomes so chaotic
We are heading into the debt crisis and crypto can help
How Three Arrows Capital Missed Every Target They Aimed
55% completion of Ethereum 2.0 means an unfinished product
The dollar is ever stronger
When Crypto gets into politics
Bitcoin Reduces Cost Of Living
The banking system rules out the crypto market threat
The US Stablecoin Bill is coming soon
MetaMask Ethereum Wallet update to prevent scams
We are in a recession, no doubt?!
How high leverage crypto lending market collapses
What Metaverse?!
Self-proclaimed Bitcoin creator Craig S. Wright won the legal case for ?1
Ethics of Crypto
Crypto hacking is inevitable
The parallel money system
The Crypto has no greed problem
Banks are secretly hoarding crypto
Why there is not crypto banking exist
Financial sanction to mixers
Why Gold System Comes Back
Your future landlord is buying crypto
Future of the blockchain
The Ethereum Merge
Crypto can help to create meaningful jobs
Crypto VC from WeWork to WeBack
Misconception about Ethereum Upgrade aka Merge
Misconceptions about the NFTs
Learning Blockchain through Python: Part 1
Opinions about Ethereum’s Future
Meta...verse?!
Arrested Tornado Cash Dev signals the next arrest maybe you
Bitcoin's Taro has a scalability doubt
NFT Repurpose
What Defi?! It is more like a Nofi
The future of the economy is looming again
Ethereum is winning in the coming short term but privacy will be once to win for all
AVAX Conspiracy
Lessons Learned from the Global Economy Crisis (NFSW)
Compound REKT
Helium + Solana = ??
You need insurance for current inflation
NFT licenses
My opinion of neural networks as a philosophy
The Fourth Dimension of the Crypto Universe
Threats of the Crypto Universe
Gambling of the Crypto Universe
Bitcoin Mining Energy Myth
NFT marketplace is quietly collapsing
A Dream of Interpersonal Computing
After Terra co-founder's Arrest Warrant
A disappointed boring Ethereum Merge
A disappointed First-Ever comprehensive framework
State vs. Individual
The currency crisis reaches its peak
My opinion about inflation in the future
When banks play double dipping
One of the biggest advantages and disadvantages in crypto
When fiat currency is volatile
The core reason why Defi is not working
What if you regret your crypto transaction
What Did the Bank of England just Do?
Decentralized Social Media is a BS
A trust issue
------------------------
Yearn Finance Comic
Yearn Finance Comic - Part 1
Yearn Finance Comic - Part 2
Yearn Finance Comic - Part 3
Yearn Finance Comic - Part 4
Yearn Finance Comic — Part 5
Yearn Finance Comic - Part 6
------------------------
Curated Lists
Curated Lists - Web3 Culture
Curated Lists - Crypto-enabled Communities
Curated Lists - Crypto Philosophy
------------------------
Defi 101
Defi 101 - Part 1
Defi 101 — Part 2
------------------------
Thoughts
Thoughts about VC and PleasrDAO x BitDAO
The Crypto Market has Changed
The Myth of Inflation Hedge
The Myth of Stablecoin
The Myth of NFT
End of the Crypto Market?
The End of the Stablecoin?
Terra-UST Saga - How to repair the trust when there is no trust built on
How to deal with negative market sentiment
------------------------
Crypto VC Thoughts
Crypto VC Thoughts: Physical Assets vs Digital Assets
Crypto VC Thoughts: Digital Money Pushes Energy Companies to Innovate
Crypto VC Thoughts: GameFi Dilemma
Crypto VC Thoughts: Credit Oceans
Crypto VC Thoughts: The Death of Terra
Crypto VC Thoughts: Debunk Bitcoin Myths
Crypto VC Thoughts: Defense Crypto Investment Methods
Crypto VC Thoughts: New Type of Stablecoin
Crypto VC Thoughts: Crypto Business Cycle
Crypto VC Thoughts: Crypto Business Cycle 2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Disclosure: The article was written by a delusional author who is possibly a nut job without any questions whatsoever about expertise in the subject matters. You should not believe any words this author wrote or you may experience similar symptoms or even possibly become a nut job.