Cryptocurrency firms bombarded Londoners with a record number of adverts on public transport during 2021, fuelling calls for a ban to prevent people being lured into risky investments.
The surge in adverts for crypto assets, which are unregulated in the UK, has prompted concerns about the risk of addiction and financial harm, particularly given the wild volatility in the price of digital currencies such as bitcoin, which reached record highs last year before crashing again.
It also emerged that Transport for London (TfL) has not implemented a ban on gambling adverts promised by the mayor, Sadiq Khan, allowing the industry to step up its marketing activity in the meantime.
Records obtained by the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act show that TfL services displayed 39,560 crypto adverts from 13 firms in the six months between April and September 2021.
Major advertisers include the trading platform eToro, floki – “a “meme coin” named after Elon Musk’s dog – Crypto.com and Luno Money, whose campaign telling people it was “time to buy” bitcoin was banned by the advertising regulator for being “irresponsible”.
The promotional drive eclipsed previous years, as advertisers tapped into the popularity of smartphone trading apps and increased awareness of digital currencies such as bitcoin and ether.
In 2019, the only advertiser offering crypto services on TfL buses and trains was trading platform eToro, which paid for just five digital displays and 40 “supersides”, long posters on the side of doubledecker buses.
Despite widespread working from home in 2020, the volume of crypto ads increased, with companies including Luno Money and Coinfloor buying 1,595 ads between them.
Before the recent surge, 2018 was the busiest year for crypto ads on TfL since it started recording data in 2017.
Even then, 15,000 were shown in 12 months, compared with 39,560 after just six months of 2021, including promotions for relatively obscure firms such as Hex, Kraken, BOTS, and Puglife.
In total, crypto companies have spent £825,245 to advertise on TfL tube and train services since 2018. The organisation does not hold spending data for buses.
A separate freedom of information request by the Guardian revealed that the crypto advertising push was mirrored by a significant increase in gambling ads, as Khan’s April 2021 promise to ban gambling ads appeared to stall.
In 2018-19, online casinos and bookmakers spent £783,476 to advertise on TfL services, then £1m the following year, followed by £1.16m …….
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jan/14/cryptocurrency-ads-london-transport-tfl