London lawmakers urge ban on crypto ads on public transport

[ad_1]

Transport for London (TfL) has received requests to stop allowing ads for the cryptocurrency, according to a report.

It comes after TfL had a three-week poster campaign for a crypto token called Floki Inu, named after a dog owned by Elon Musk, which was funded by an anonymous group.

The ads appeared on buses and London Underground stations throughout October.

The software used to make crypto has become widely available since the invention of bitcoin. Now, it has been used to create hundreds of new digital tokens, many of which are from online jokes and memes.

In the UK, crypto is not regulated and some cryptocurrencies have been used for scams. According to Siân Berry, member of the Green party in the London Assembly, the campaign “should have raised a red flag”. She said someone at TfL should have taken a closer look at the commercials, along with two others that have aired in recent weeks.

“When the ad says ‘this is absolutely unregulated, you could lose all your money’, they should have had their doubts. I don’t think cryptocurrency ads should be on the network. They are unethical.

That said, there is no indication that Floki Inu is run by crooks. But the report notes that digital tokens can be used in “pump and dump” scams where some investors draw intense attention to a coin, then earn huge profits by dumping assets when the price is higher. This happened recently with the SQUID token, based on the Netflix show “Squid Game”.

Floki Inu’s website does not offer the names of those involved, nor any contact addresses, and journalists’ requests for information have not been answered.

PYMNTS reports that there are more companies considering using crypto for B2B purposes. Forty percent of companies surveyed in a recent PYMNTS study plan to use digital currencies for these kinds of purposes, with benefits such as faster settlement times and lower costs for cross-border payments.

Read more: Banks Understand Crypto’s B2B Potential, But Will Take ‘Small Steps’ To The End

According to Jeremy Tan, CEO of Liquid Group, there are still hurdles, including volatility, lack of framework and lack of regulation.

——————————

NEW PYMNTS DATA: 2021 HOLIDAY SHOPPING PERSPECTIVES

By the way: It’s almost time for the holiday shopping season, and nearly 90% of U.S. consumers plan to do at least some of their purchases online – 13% more than in 2020. On the 2021 Holiday Shopping Outlook, PYMNTS surveyed over 3,600 consumers. to find out what drives online sales this holiday season and the impact of product availability and personalized rewards on merchant preferences.

[ad_2]