The SEC has filed a case against Justin Sun, along with other people

Arbitrarily Charged Kardashian for Promoting EthereumMax on Instagram: a Response to the Securities and Exchange Commission/Bored Apes Correspondence

On Monday, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it civilly charged Kim Kardashian for promoting a crypto asset, EthereumMax, on Instagram without disclosing that she was paid to do so. Kardashian has agreed to pay a nearly $1.3 million fine and to not promote any cryptocurrencies for three years, the SEC said.

“Ms. Kardashian is pleased to have resolved this matter with the SEC,” said a statement from her attorneys. “Kardashian fully cooperated with the SEC from the very beginning and she remains willing to do whatever she can to assist the SEC in this matter. She wanted to get this behind her so she wouldn’t have a lengthy dispute. The agreement she reached with the SEC allows her to do that so that she can move forward with her many different business pursuits.”

According to regulators, her post also “provided instructions for potential investors to purchase EMAX tokens.” And that violates an “anti-touting provision” in the federal securities laws.

The SEC issued a statement in March of last year cautioning against celebrity endorsements for stock and other investments, as seen in the complaint regarding Bored Apes. The endorsement may be illegal if it does not reveal the nature of compensation paid directly or indirectly by the company in exchange for the endorsement.

The Federal Trade Commission is against celebrities who don’t adequately disclose their connections or that they are paid by the products they promote.

Several celebrities have ended up in legal trouble because of regulators’ interest in ferreting out illegal activity in the digital currency market.

The SEC found that Kardashian violated the anti-touting provision of federal securities laws. Kardashian agreed to the order without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings.

In a June 13, 2021 Instagram post Kardashian wrote, “Are you guys into crypto? This is not financial advice but sharing what my friends told me. She added different hashtags, including #ad, along with #emax and #disrupthistory, among others.

The Securities Laws: Now I Know Who My Comrades Are: Voices from the Internet Underground (with an Emphasis on Cryptocurrencies)

“If you’re advertising perfume, or you’re advertising vacation homes or anything else on the internet, there are various laws related to that. These are the securities laws.

Emily is an editor at The Wall Street Journal and a former policy advisor to the US State Department. She is the author of a book called, “Now I Know Who My Comrades Are: Voices from the Internet Underground.” The opinions in this commentary are her own. Read more opinion at CNN.

This sentiment-driven mania was particularly notable last year during the bull market crypto frenzy, where much investment seemed to be driven more by fear of missing out than sober analysis. Crypto lender Celsius and stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) are just two examples of ultimately failed projects that seduced investors with the allure of high returns. Celsius filed for bankruptcy protection, and UST, which was supposed to trade at $1, saw its price drop far lower than that. The NFT market experienced a collapse in prices this year.

How do you differentiate winners from loser in a fast-changing market? It’s easy to imagine how a confident tweet by a celebrity could have a significant impact on a new investor.

“I do think people will be more careful now,” former SEC branch chief Lisa Braganca told me. This is how the SEC talks to the world. When they make informational videos, the impact is less. It makes a lot less noise than when they bring an enforcement action.”

The Bored Ape NFT Project isn’t the right place to lose: A class-action lawsuit against a cloaking company

The backlash started earlier this month, when a class-action suit was filed against celebrities, including Jimmy Fallon, Justin Bieber and Serena Williams for promoting Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs.

Digital works of art and other collectibles can now be transformed into one-of-a-kind, verifiable assets that are easy to trade on the blockchain thanks to a new phenomenon called NFTs. The Bored Ape Yacht Club has 10,000 pieces of digital NFT art that are housed on the eth decentralised technology.

FTX got endorsements from athletes and celebrities in the past. Brady and Bundchen, notably, took an undisclosed equity stake in the exchange in 2021.

FTX’s CEO testified on Capitol Hill Tuesday that investors won’t be able to recover their money. The NFT market has been collapsing and people who poured money into Bored Ape are not worth what they paid for them.

The company faces bankruptcy and is accused of carrying out one of the biggest financial frauds in US history.

Investigation of a Tron Founder in China: Justin Sun is facing sanctions from the Securities and Exchange Commission after his possible illegal activities in cryptocurrency empire

“Exploring #DeFi and already liking $JST, $SUN on $TRX. Very fast and very low fee. Good job, justintron. The SEC said Lindsay failed to disclose that she was a paid endorser.

A spokesperson for Lohan said the celebrity “was contacted in March 2022 and was unaware of the disclosure requirement. She agreed to pay a fine to resolve the matter.”

Other celebrities who have reached a settlement with their charges include Michele Mason (also known as Ms. Lust), Miles Parks McCollum (Lil Yachty), and Ne-Yo.

The fines were added on top of the $10,000 she earned for the promotion. It was decided that Paul would pay $75,000 in fines and $25,000 in earned money.

When we wrote about Tron founder Justin Sun and possible illegal activities within his cryptocurrency empire last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) declined to comment. If he breaks so many laws at such a rapid pace, it will be impossible for anyone to catch up to him, according to one employee.

Sun held an initial coin offering for the token that is attached to his business. This gives investors the chance to dive in on a new cryptocurrency, much like an initial public offering (IPO). However, he held the ICO in China just days before the country banned the offering — and fled.

Comment on Closure of the Supergravity Matrix’ by S.C.F. Anderson and Y.K.M. DeSitter

NPR reached out to representatives for each of the celebrities with a request for comment but did not immediately hear back from seven out of the eight. A representative for Jake Paul declined to comment.