South African regulator mandates crypto ad risk warnings

The advertising regulatory board (ARB) of South Africa has directed crypto asset providers and influencers to communicate in their advertisements that investing in crypto assets may result in capital loss.

ARB stated in its report on Jan. 23 that crypto advertisement providers must provide a balanced message about the returns, benefits, and risks associated with the asset.

Regulated crypto ads

Advertisement providers must clearly state that past performance does not guarantee favorable future performance, ARB said.

“Advertisements must expressly and clearly state that investing in crypto assets may result in the loss of capital as the value is variable and can go up as well as down.”

The regulator also urged crypto asset providers to discourage cryptocurrency investment using credits. In the case where Influencers are involved in promoting advertisements, they are mandated to share only factual information about the crypto asset, according to the ARB report.

The South African regulator also urged crypto influencers and ambassadors to desist from offering trading or investing advice to their audience about any crypto asset.

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Christian is a crypto-curious nerd who loves to investigate how protocols work under the hood. Christian is interested in DeFi protocol research, token economics, and on-chain analytics.