Shalini Nagarajan

<div id="highlights-block_63592498841c6" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Google’s quarterly ad revenue dropped 2% to $7.1 billion as advertisers slashed budgets</li>
 <li>YouTube ad revenue fell for the first time since the division began reporting performance in 2020</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Internet giant Google is seeing some financial pain as advertisers, including crypto firms, pull back on their spending alongside rising inflation.



Parent company Alphabet on Tuesday posted its <a href="https://abc.xyz/investor/static/pdf/2022Q3_alphabet_earnings_release.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">third-quarter earnings</a> — a quarterly net profit of $13.9 billion — down 27% from a year ago, missing analyst estimates of $16.9 billion. Revenue climbed 6% to $69.1 billion, falling short of the $71 billion expectation.



The Mountain View, California-based company appears to have been affected by the crypto winter, rising interest rates and fears of slowing growth as the global economy is still reeling from the pandemic and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/tag/ukraine/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Russia’s war in Ukraine</a>.



Philipp Schindler, Google’s chief business officer, said in the <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/article/4549115-alphabet-inc-goog-q3-2022-earnings-call-transcript" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">earnings call</a> that the slump was driven in part by crypto companies and other financial firms trimming ad spending.



“In the third quarter, we did see a pullback in spend by some advertisers in certain areas and search ads,”&nbsp; he said. “For example, in financial services, we saw a pullback in the insurance, loan, mortgage and crypto subcategories.”



Schindler didn’t elaborate on which crypto subcategories contributed to the slide, but the company’s <a href="https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/7645254?hl=en#zippy=%2Cnorth-and-south-america" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">strict crypto ads policy</a> is designed to shut out shady advertising or brazen scams.&nbsp;



Google didn’t return Blockworks’ request for comment by press time.



Google’s advertising revenue from YouTube fell 2% to $7.1 billion, the first time the division reported a loss. Meanwhile, revenue from Google search ads rose 4.2% to $39.5 billion, but but the division missed forecasts for 8% growth.



Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai described the period as a “tough time in the ad market,” and Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat blamed the year-on-year slump on “further pullbacks in advertiser spend.”



The cryptocurrency market has trended downward this year, hit by a mix of recessionary fears and the collapse of the <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/tag/terra/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Terra</a> ecosystem, with 2021 darling assets such as Solana down over 90% year to date. Price volatility forced major industry players including <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/coinbase-cut-workforce-ceo-wary-of-potential-recession/#:~:text=Coinbase%20To%20Cut%2018%25%20of%20Workforce%2C%20CEO%20Wary%20of%20Potential%20Recession,-Coinbase's%20decision%20to&amp;text=Coinbase%20will%20slash%20its%20workforce,CEO%20Brian%20Armstrong%20on%20Tuesday." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Coinbase</a>,<a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/blockchain-com-slashes-25-of-workforce-cuts-exec-compensation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Blockchain.com </a>and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/cryptocurrency-lender-blockfi-set-to-cut-staff-by-a-fifth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BlockFi</a> to rejig operations and lay off thousands of employees. 



Pay-per-click (PPC) marketing is generally not what Web3 businesses do, and not what they have historically been doing, according to Adrian Krion, founder and CEO of blockchain gaming startup Spielworks.



“Right now, [lower ad spending] is also related to the low interest and the bear market,” he told Blockworks, adding that businesses in the industry are expected to rely on proven practices like content and viral marketing until Google’s <a href="https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/12055790?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">financial product and services policy</a> is made clearer.



<h3>Google bets on Coinbase for revenue diversification</h3>



Despite the bearish sentiment, the crypto winter is not broadly seen as a terrible thing for the industry as a whole, as times of slow growth are helpful in rooting out conceptually weak projects and carving out space for others to innovate.



Google appears to accept that the drawdown in revenue from crypto-related advertisers won’t last long. Earlier this month, it inked a <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/coinbase-stock-pops-on-google-deal-to-accept-crypto-for-cloud/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">deal with Coinbase</a> to soon begin accepting crypto payments from its cloud customers.



Lars Seier Christensen, chair of Concordium and founder of Saxo Bank, said Google’s new partnership is a “general endorsement of the crypto space” where an increasing number of businesses accept crypto as viable tender for goods and services. 



“But more importantly, it’s unquestionable that Google has done this to gain additional market share for its growing cloud business. This means that Google has recognized a real business potential in the equally growing number of crypto native businesses,” he added.



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Google Summer Ad Business Falls After Crypto Winter

Ben Strack

<div id="highlights-block_63505f4e5b4e3" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Blockchain gaming company Limit Break plans to feature its DigiDaigaku NFT collection in the Super Bowl spot it bought for $6.5 million</li>
 <li>OKX seeking to create “aspirational” ad about the potential of Web3, OKX Chief Marketing Officer tells Blockworks</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Just like 2022’s NFL season, the crypto bear market — which has lasted much longer — trudges on. And while many have cut costs, not all crypto firms are backing down from spending. Some are even gearing up to dish out millions of dollars on Super Bowl ads to build brand awareness.&nbsp;



The 2022 Super Bowl offered <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/super-bowl-ads-spark-public-interest-coinbase-site-crashes-from-traffic/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a spotlight on the crypto industry</a> less than three months after bitcoin (BTC) and ether (BTC) hit all-time highs, featuring advertisements from FTX, Coinbase, Crypto.com and others. The price of BTC and ETH are each down more than 70% from those peaks.



Though a more-tempered representation is expected this time around, blockchain gaming company Limit Break said last week it bought a Super Bowl ad for $6.5 million. Crypto exchange OKX is also planning to purchase a television spot for the game, Chief Marketing Officer Haider Rafique told Blockworks.&nbsp;



Rafique estimated the cost — between the ad itself, as well as creating the idea for and producing the commercial — could total more than $10 million. He called the company’s recent <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U2Nai5xVvA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">“What is OKX?”</a> campaign a preamble to its 2023 marketing efforts, starting with the Super Bowl.



The ad is likely to focus on OKX’s self-custody Web3 wallet, Rafique said.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“When you see a Super Bowl ad from us, it will be about not the future of crypto or finance, but it will likely be about the future of Web3, and the ability for people to read, write and own on the web — and what does that look like for entrepreneurs, for small businesses, for creators and all of us,” he added.



The exchange purposefully held back on marketing during the bull market, Rafique said, allowing it to push forward with marketing initiatives in recent months while competitors have pulled back.&nbsp;



The exchange, for example, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-exchange-okx-inks-f1-mega-deal/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">revealed a partnership with Formula 1’s McLaren Racing</a> in a multi-year deal worth “hundreds of millions” in May.&nbsp;



“When the market goes down, people have more skepticism around our industry,” Rafique said. “That’s the time when we should be doing storytelling.”



<h3>A spotlight on NFTs</h3>



While OKX has not yet finalized its media buy for the Super Bowl, Limit Break has.&nbsp;



The company, founded by mobile game creators Gabriel Leydon and Halbert Nakagawa, is set to feature its DigiDaigaku NFT collection in the television spot. Limit Break gave away the collection during a free mint in August around the time the company raised $200 million from Buckley Ventures, Standard Crypto, Paradigm Ventures, FTX, Coinbase Ventures and others.



The company said in a statement last week that the ad would include a &#8220;Web3 experience&#8221; but declined to share specifics.



“I can assure you that you haven&#8217;t seen what we&#8217;ll be coming out with,” Leydon told Blockworks in an email. “Having this ad is exciting for us because prior to the Super Bowl, there&#8217;s going to be millions of people who have never heard of an NFT.”&nbsp;



The promotion of an NFT collection during the Super Bowl is especially interesting, according to Coinbound CEO Ty Smith, as people will be able to see the effect of the ad on the collection’s volume and price in real time.&nbsp;



“I’m not sure there’s too many products that have that type of insight possible and, as marketers, is something we are watching,” the crypto marketing firm founder said.



By gaining access to roughly 50 million people watching the Super Bowl on television and an expected additional 10 million watching online, Leydon said that the commercial purchase is a way to grow the current DigiDaigaku community that currently consists of roughly 20,000 followers across Twitter and Discord.



<h3>Who will buy again?</h3>



FTX, Coinbase, Crypto.com and eToro each made ad buys during the US Super Bowl broadcast in February, as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut3m9OK1c7Y" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FTX</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUygWsIj_GU" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Crypto.com</a> ran commercials featuring Larry David and LeBron James, respectively.



FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried said during a discussion hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center last week that celebrity-fueled crypto ads are less about gaining retail customers than they are about fostering institutional relationships — a concept he admitted seemed counter-intuitive.



“It’s a foot in the door, is what it really is,” he said. “It’s a, ‘Please stop declining our meeting requests and have the meeting so that we can talk about a way we can potentially work together.’”



<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIUD_NE1BDo&amp;t=3s" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Coinbase’s 60-second advertisement</a> in February featured a QR code that directed people to a promotional page on its website offering new users free bitcoin. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O4rP3qwlfo&amp;t=29s" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The 30-second ad by eToro</a> promoting “social investing” mentioned crypto several times.



Spokespeople for the four companies declined to comment on whether they would advertise during the Super Bowl again.&nbsp;



Crypto platform Bitbuy was the only firm in the space to advertise on the Super Bowl’s Canadian broadcast. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI3LNq_lres" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Bitbuy commercial</a> featured NBA star Kyle Lowry.&nbsp;



Though the company’s online marketing spend in the year’s second half has remained consistent to pre-market downturn levels, according to Binu Koshy, Bitbuy’s director of communications, it greatly reduced its offline marketing spend, he said, which includes Kyle Lowry commercials.



“[It’s] not because we don&#8217;t believe in the medium, but because we felt the messaging in the commercials were not reflective of the current market realities, so it wouldn&#8217;t perform,” Koshy said. “We&#8217;ve also noticed that presently none of our top competitors here in Canada are advertising on offline media channels that they were in the past. Obviously that could change.”



Though Koshy said he could not comment on whether the company would run an ad in the 2023 Super Bowl, he noted Bitbuy has “ambitious marketing plans” for next year.&nbsp;



“We will continue to promote the benefits of using a regulated and locally based crypto-trading platform like Bitbuy over unregulated international exchanges,” Koshy said.&nbsp;



<h3>A different message?</h3>



There may be fewer digital asset-related ads during the 2023 Super Bowl, said Keli Callaghan, a partner at Arrington Capital who formerly led marketing at Algorand. But many entities in this space have a long-term vision and recognize the need for continued education, she added.



“I hope that those that do come to light will be more impactful in terms of educating the US more broadly on the real benefit of being able to exchange value in decentralized models and expand financial participation,” Callaghan said.



Coinbound CEO Ty Smith said he expects crypto messaging during the Super Bowl to have a bit more “gravitas” and foresees the major players positioning crypto as an interesting addition to an investment portfolio.



“The markets are down and a lot of people got burned last year,” Smith said. “Everyone knows that, and I think aware marketing teams are going to acknowledge it while still [educating] viewers about the long-term possibility of Web3.”



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<hr class="wp-block-separator">

What Crypto Super Bowl Ads Can We Expect in 2023?

Morgan Chittum

<div id="highlights-block_623a1fbad4347" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>The UK Advertising Standards Authority previously scrutinized ads from Coinbase</li>
 <li>Agencies in Spain and Singapore have also warned firms for promotions</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



A UK regulator sent over 50 crypto companies enforcement notices to review their advertisements – joining a growing list of countries cracking down on promotions in the nascent space.



On Tuesday, the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) <a href="https://www.asa.org.uk/news/asa-enforcement-notice-continues-clampdown-on-misleading-and-irresponsible-crypto-ads.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">threatened</a> firms with targeted sanctions if “problem ads” continue after May 2.



“This is a ‘red alert’ priority issue for us and we’ve recently banned several crypto ads for misleading consumers and for being socially irresponsible,” the watchdog said in a statement.



The ASA said companies should not call investing in cryptocurrencies &#8220;trivial” or “suitable for anyone.&#8221; Additionally, they can’t create a &#8220;fear of missing out&#8221; on investments in the digital asset class.



The advertising watchdog did not publicly name the companies it had contacted. ASA, however, said they had previously banned Coinbase and Papa John’s ads.



An estimated 2.3 million UK consumers are holding crypto, according to a June <a href="https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/research/research-note-cryptoasset-consumer-research-2021" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FCA report</a>.&nbsp;



Susannah Streeter, a senior investment analyst at British financial services company Hargreaves Lansdown, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/uk-government-seeks-to-boost-regulation-of-crypto-ads/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told Blockworks</a> the ASA could only censure firms after the ads are out.



“The rollercoaster ride is set to continue, given that crypto assets are also highly sensitive to the fortunes of the stock market and were propelled higher in an era of ultra-cheap money,” Streeter said in an email. “As speculation swirls about how rapidly central banks will tighten mass bond buying programmes and start raising interest rates, given soaring inflation, they are likely to stay volatile.”



Last year, the ASA investigated <a href="https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/arsenal-football-club-plc-a21-1121873-arsenal-football-club-plc.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Arsenal Football Club</a> for promoting crypto tokens to fans because it “failed to illustrate the risk of the investment.”



ASA’s enforcement notices follow <a href="https://www.cnmv.es/portal/verDoc.axd?t=%7B1cbaf61c-57c2-4830-bd6a-071f806795e2%7D" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rules outlined by Spain’s national securities market commission</a> on Jan. 17. The agency’s new circular aims to ensure “advertising of the products offers true, understandable and non-misleading content and includes a prominent warning of the associated risks” of crypto.



The Monetary Authority of Singapore, meanwhile, on <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/singapore-issues-guidelines-targetting-crypto-promotions-to-general-public/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jan. 18 urged</a> digital payment tokens providers to not play down crypto risks. Regulated providers, including banks and financial institutions, are now barred from promoting their services except via their own social media, websites or mobile apps.



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<hr class="wp-block-separator">

UK Watchdog Clamps Down on Crypto Firms for ‘Misleading’ Advertisements

Sebastian Sinclair

<div id="highlights-block_6209c0166f009" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Coinbase&#8217;s site and app reportedly shut down briefly on Sunday following an influx of interest from its Super Bowl ad, though the site and app are back online and functioning as normal </li>
 <li>Super Bowl ads featured an array of companies, from FTX, eToro, Crypto.com and more</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Coinbase&#8217;s platform and app were temporarily forced offline on Sunday after it debuted its $14 million ad during the Super Bowl.



The ad, which features a floating QR code box bouncing around the screen for 60 seconds, directs to a <a href="https://drops.coinbase.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">promotional page</a> on its website offering new users signups $15 in bitcoin. The ultra-minimalist retro-styled ad evoked early computer or console games from the 1970s and &#8217;80s.



<iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eIUD_NE1BDo" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>



Shortly after the ad went live to hundreds of millions of homes in the US, Twitter users began reporting issues connecting to the exchange&#8217;s website and app. It is the first ad Coinbase has spun up for the sporting event.



The mishap calls into question Coinbase&#8217;s stability during times of large site traffic. The platform shut down on several occasions over the last two years, following erratic trading and subsequent dips in bitcoin&#8217;s price.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Coinbase?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Coinbase</a> how can you drop this ad and then for the app to crash <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SuperBowl?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SuperBowl</a> <a href="https://t.co/FAbvRnudsK">pic.twitter.com/FAbvRnudsK</a>&mdash; Vanessa 🗺 (@rurisan) <a href="https://twitter.com/rurisan/status/1493014031338283008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



The issue, which lasted just minutes, has since been resolved, and users can now access the website along with the promo page which features messages including &#8220;Less Talk, More Bitcoin&#8221; and &#8220;WAGMI.&#8221;



At press time, Coinbase was experiencing issues with Google Pay and directed customers to use alternative payment methods, according to its <a href="https://status.coinbase.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">status page</a>.



While the influx of interest briefly forced the platform&#8217;s website and app offline, Coinbase&#8217;s Chief Product Officer Surojit Chatterjee <a href="https://twitter.com/surojit/status/1493031594109538304?s=20&amp;t=oBBf-y2Mt1rbTDVx0aOKyw" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a> Sunday that Coinbase had experienced &#8220;more traffic&#8221; than it had &#8220;ever encountered,&#8221; resulting in engineers having to throttle traffic.



&#8220;We are now back and ready for you,&#8221; Chatterjee said in his tweet. &#8220;Humbled to have been witness to this.&#8221; 



<h3>Other industry Super Bowl ads</h3>



A variety of industry participants were also present during the ad breaks at the Super Bowl.



Comedian, writer, director and actor <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_David" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Larry David</a> was featured in an ad for crypto derivatives exchange FTX, comparing the platform to famous inventions throughout history:



<iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BH5-rSxilxo" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>



As part of the campaign, FTX promised four viewers who retweeted <a href="https://twitter.com/FTX_Official/status/1493028625825869828?s=20&amp;t=hP1VQ1TpqS0ifQXLlZWzKg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the official tweet</a> of the ad will win 7.54 bitcoins — the commercial aired at 7:54 pm ET.



The Crypto.com exchange featured a skit with basketball star Lebron James imparting wisdom to his younger self:



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">In his moment of truth, <a href="https://twitter.com/KingJames?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KingJames</a> called it. Fortune Favors the Brave <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FFTB?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FFTB</a> <a href="https://t.co/Snhpit3vnh">pic.twitter.com/Snhpit3vnh</a>&mdash; Crypto.com (@cryptocom) <a href="https://twitter.com/cryptocom/status/1493033811105378307?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Championing &#8220;social investing,&#8221; eToro&#8217;s ad depicted a swarm of flying retail traders set to a cover of &#8220;Fly Me To the Moon&#8221; — the classic 1950s ballad by <a href="https://www.songhall.org/awards/winner/Fly_Me_To_The_Moon" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bart Howard</a> made famous by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQR0bXO_yI8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frank Sinatra</a> during NASA&#8217;s Apollo moon missions. 



<iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7O4rP3qwlfo" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>



Canadian exchange Bitbuy <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/exchanges-compete-to-grab-super-bowl-spotlight/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ran an ad</a> with its own sports star, Kyle Lowry, while <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcmAlpIp3oM" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljMvZbYDl2E" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TurboTax</a> marketing buys also touched on crypto.



Last year, Super Bowl LV generated $434.5 million of in-game ad revenue, with an average price of around $6.5 million per 30-second segment. For every dollar spent for the coveted prime time slots, an average return on investment of $4.60 was received — more than four times the initial spend, according to data by provider <a href="https://www.kantar.com/north-america/inspiration/advertising-media/2021-super-bowl-generated-435-million-dollars-in-ad-revenue#:~:text=Super%20Bowl%20LV%20saw%20a,%245%20million%20the%20previous%20year.&amp;text=Automotive%20continued%20to%20lead%20the,million%20less%20compared%20to%202020." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kantar</a>.



Macauley Peterson contributed reporting for this story.



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<hr class="wp-block-separator">

Coinbase Site Crashes From Traffic as Super Bowl Ads Spark Public Interest

<div id="highlights-block_61fb08e888489" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Andrew Forrest is bringing criminal proceedings against Facebook for using his image in crypto scam ads on the social media platform</li>
 <li>The billionaire said he was doing it for the people to shield them from future crypto scams by &#8220;criminal syndicates&#8221;</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>





Australian billionaire Andrew &#8216;Twiggy&#8217; Forrest has brought criminal proceedings against Facebook, alleging the company failed to prevent false cryptocurrency advertisements using his image on its platform.



The minerals mining magnate alleges Facebook, now Meta Platforms Inc., was &#8220;criminally reckless&#8221; for failing to take down the scam posts which have been ongoing since March 2019, according to a report by <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-03/andrew-twiggy-forrest-launches-criminal-proceedings-facebook/100800630" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ABC News</a> on Wednesday. Proceedings have been lodged in the Magistrates Court of Western Australia.



Forrest also alleges Facebook breached Australia&#8217;s money-laundering laws by doing little to stop the ads and that it &#8220;failed to create controls or a corporate culture to prevent its systems being used to commit crime.&#8221;



&#8220;I’m concerned about innocent Australians being scammed through clickbait advertising on social media,&#8221; Forrest said, as cited in the report. &#8220;I’m committed to ensuring that social media operators don’t allow their sites to be used by criminal syndicates.&#8221;



Charges have been made under Part 10 of the country&#8217;s Commonwealth Criminal Code with the blessing of the Attorney-General, per the report. 



&#8220;We take a multifaceted approach to stop these ads, we work not just to detect and reject the ads themselves but also block advertisers from our services and, in some cases, take court action to enforce our policies,&#8221; a spokesperson from Meta said in the report. &#8220;We&#8217;re committed to keeping these people [scammers] off our platform.&#8221;&nbsp;



It&#8217;s not the first time the social media giant has landed in hot water over crypto ad scams. In 2018, the issue reached a fever pitch, forcing Facebook to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jan/31/facebook-bans-ads-cryptocurrencies-scams" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ban advertising</a> for anything related to the industry. At the time, the social media giant labeled the ads as being &#8220;frequently associated with misleading or deceptive promotional practices.&#8221; 



That decision was eventually overturned to only include initial coin offerings, according to its <a href="https://www.facebook.com/policies/ads/prohibited_content/prohibited_financial_products_and_services" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">advertising policies</a>. Some argue this change leaves more breathing room for scammers to exploit their victims, something, Forrest argues, Facebook has done little about.



&#8220;I want social media companies to use much more of their vast resources and billions of dollars in annual revenue to protect vulnerable people — the people who are targeted and fall victim to these horrible scams with their hard-earned savings,&#8221; said Forrest.



A hearing date has been set and will be held in the magistrate&#8217;s court on March 28.



Facebook parent company Meta Platforms&#8217; shares <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/zuckerberg-still-confident-in-metaverse-plans-despite-stocks-20-slide/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fell 20% yesterday</a> following the release of its latest earnings report.



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Australian Billionaire Brings Criminal Case Against Facebook Over Fake Crypto Ads

<div id="highlights-block_61e6ee4b93e84" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority censured Arsenal Football Club last month for promoting tokens to fans without proper warnings</li>
 <li>The government’s plan follows similar efforts by agencies in Spain and Singapore</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



The UK government shared plans to bolster its rules on crypto advertisements in an effort to protect consumers from misleading claims.&nbsp;



The plans call for bringing the advertising of cryptoassets under the rules of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) — the same standards that stocks, shares, and insurance products are held to, the UK government <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-to-strengthen-rules-on-misleading-cryptocurrency-adverts" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">revealed Tuesday</a>.



The UK launched its Cryptoasset Taskforce in 2018, and Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said in a statement that the government is eager to support innovation in the crypto space.



“Cryptoassets can provide exciting new opportunities, offering people new ways to transact and invest, but it’s important that consumers are not being sold products with misleading claims,” Sunak added. “We are ensuring consumers are protected, while also supporting innovation of the cryptoasset market.”



The number of consumers in the UK holding cryptocurrency was estimated to be 2.3 million, according to <a href="https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/research/research-note-cryptoasset-consumer-research-2021" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">an FCA report</a> published in June.



Though the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has been trying to respond to the complaints about misleading crypto promotions, the agency needed support from the FCA given the scale of the problem, according to ​​Susannah Streeter, a senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. The ASA could only censure firms after the ads had been posted, she added.



The <a href="https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/arsenal-football-club-plc-a21-1121873-arsenal-football-club-plc.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ASA censured Arsenal Football Club</a> last month for promoting tokens to fans without proper warnings. The watchdog told the organization to ensure its future ads “did not trivialise investment in crypotassets” and make “sufficiently clear that the value of investments in cryptoassets was variable and cryptoassets were unregulated.”



The UK rule changes will come through legislation to amend the Financial Promotion Order, which sets out the investments and activities to which the financial promotion regime applies, according to the government’s announcement.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“Once this new legislation is passed, firms promoting crypto products will have a much higher bar to jump to show that ads are fair, clear and not misleading and companies could face hefty fines for serious breaches,” Streeter explained in an email. </blockquote>



The UK government’s plans follow <a href="https://www.cnmv.es/portal/verDoc.axd?t=%7B1cbaf61c-57c2-4830-bd6a-071f806795e2%7D" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rules outlined by Spain’s national securities market commission</a> on Monday. The agency establishes that the advertising of cryptoassets must include “clear, balanced, fair and non-misleading content and information on the risks in a prominent manner,” among other measures.



The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) also <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/singapore-issues-guidelines-targetting-crypto-promotions-to-general-public/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">released guidelines Monday</a> urging that digital payment tokens providers should not downplay the risks of crypto trading. Regulated providers, including banks and financial institutions, are now barred from promoting their crypto services to the public through any means except through their own websites, social media accounts or mobile applications.



In the US, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/voyager-estimated-quarterly-revenue-doubles-despite-lawsuit/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a complaint filed against Voyager Digital</a> last month alleges that the firm is “targeting unsophisticated investors with false and misleading promises of reaping large profits in the cryptocurrency market.” A Voyager spokesperson called the action “absolutely spurious and without any merit.”



“The rollercoaster ride is set to continue given that crypto assets are also highly sensitive to the fortunes of the stock market and were propelled higher in an era of ultra cheap money,” Streeter said. “As speculation swirls about how rapidly central banks will tighten mass bond buying programmes and start raising interest rates, given soaring inflation, they are likely to stay volatile.”



The price of bitcoin was about 41,600, as of 11:30 a.m. ET, according to CoinGecko — down nearly 40% from its all-time high of more than $68,000 in November. 




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