Kim Kardashian charged by SEC for promoting cryptocurrency and has to pay a whooping …

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is charging Kim Kardashian for
“unlawfully touting” a “crypto security,” the agency
announced on Monday morning. The SEC says
that Kardashian was in violation of its rules when she promoted a “crypto asset security offered and sold
by EthereumMax” without the necessary disclosure that she was paid to promote it.

Kardashian has already agreed to settle the case, with a $1.26 million penalty payment, and to help the SEC with
its ongoing investigation.

The agency specified that Kardashian should have disclosed a $250,000 payment she received to publish a post
about EtherumMax’s EMAX tokens on her Instagram account. The settlement reached with the SEC by Kardashian
includes a $260,000 payment that represents that original amount, plus interest, as well as $1 million in
penalties.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler separately posted a message on Twitter about the settlement, noting that that celebrity
endorsements should not be construed as financial advice basically. This could be a shot across the bow that
indicates more enforcement activity is on the table for high-profile celebs who rode the crypto wave by touting
specific assets to fans.

Gensler has repeatedly expressed the opinion that crypto
assets fall under existing securities laws, as do other new technologies that mirror traditional
securities in form and function. This is definitely an attention-grabbing way to put the SEC’s regulatory
force where Gensler’s mouth is.

Kim
Kardashian charged by SEC for pushing crypto, reaches $1.26M settlement by Darrell
Etherington originally published on TechCrunch