Keeping up with the Kardashians seems to be more demanding than keeping up with a 3-step skincare routine.
In the family’s most recent scandal, Kim Kardashian touted a crypto asset called EthereumMax on Instagram and was subsequently fined $1.26 million by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Under US law, people who tout stock or crypto security need to publicly disclose that they are paid to do so, along with the amount, source, and nature of those payments.
In an Instagram post Kardashian published in June of 2021, she wrote, “Are you guys into crypto? This is not financial advice but sharing what my friends told me about the ethereum max token!” Kardashian did add a few hashtags, one being “#ad”, which doesn’t meet the compliance standards for SEC laws regarding touting investments.
By failing to tell her 225 million Instagram followers that she was paid $250,000 by EthereumMax to publish a post about its EMAX tokens, Kardashian’s post broke a security law and can be deemed as a false advertisement to her incredibly large following.
Kardashian agreed to pay the fine of $1.26 million without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings and will not be allowed to promote any crypto asset securities for three years. With a net worth of $1.8 billion, this fine likely won’t make much of a dent in her wallet, crypto or otherwise.