Kim Kardashian has agreed to pay a $1.26 million fine for pushing a dubious cryptocurrency asset to her hundreds of millions of social media followers without disclosing that she’d been paid to do so, the United States’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Monday.
The reality star and business mogul agreed to settle charges brought against her by the SEC over an Instagram post promoting EMAX tokens — a celebrity-backed crypto asset offered by EthereumMax.
Kardashian did not reveal that she had been paid $250,000 for the post, which contained a link to the EthereumMax website which provided instructions for buying the tokens.
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“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,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a news release. “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,” Gensler added.
“Investors are entitled to know whether the publicity of a security is unbiased, and Ms. Kardashian failed to disclose this information.”
As well as the eye-watering fine, Kardashian agreed not to promote any crypto asset securities for three years in settling the charges.
