The world of cryptocurrency was rocked today when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged influencer Kim Kardashian a $1.26 million fine, for promoting a token that turned out to be a scam.
Last year, Kardashian took to Instagram to espouse the cryptocurrency EthereumMax, publishing a post asking “”Are you guys into crypto???? This is not financial advice but sharing what my friends just told me about the Ethereum Max token!”” and adding “A few minutes ago Ethereum Max burned 400 trillion tokens — literally 50% of their admin wallet, giving back to the entire E-Max community. Swipe up to join the E-Max community,”
The SEC charged the influencer with “touting on social media a crypto asset security offered and sold by EthereumMax without disclosing the payment she received for the promotion,” according to a press release, as she had reportedly been paid $250,000 for the post.
Back in January, she was named in a lawsuit alongside professional athletes Floyd Mayweather and Paul Pierce for allegedly scamming their followers to buy EthereumMax.
The lawsuit, as TheStreet’s Luc Olinga previously noted, “said that while regular investors bought Emax coins, the defendants were offloading their own assets in exchange for profits in what is known in Wall Street circles as a pump-and-dump scheme.”
Kardashian neither admitted to nor denied the regulator’s findings, the SEC said.
“This case is a reminder that when celebrities or influencers endorse investment…
