Kim Kardashian accused of promoting ‘untested cryptocurrency’

Reality star Kim Kardashian has reportedly been accused of betraying trust of her fans by promoting an ‘untested cryptocurrency’ on Instagram.

The 40-year-old reality star, according to the head of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), had “asked her 250 million followers to speculate on crypto tokens” by promoting an advert for Ethereum Max.

Charles Randell called it “a speculative digital token created a month before by unknown developers”. And he accused influencers of fuelling the “delusions of quick riches”.

The FCA chairman, while Speaking to the Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime,  said Kardashian’s Instagram post may have been the “financial promotion with the single biggest audience reach in history”.

Randell added: “I can’t say whether this particular token [Ethereum Max] is a scam.”

He continued: “But social media influencers are routinely paid by scammers to help them pump and dump new tokens on the back of pure speculation. Some influencers promote coins that turn out simply not to exist at all.”

About 2.3 million Britons currently hold cryptocurrency and he said 14% of them also use credit to purchase them – “thereby increasing the exposure to loss,” according to Randell.

The chairman said the FCA had repeatedly warned about the risks of holding “speculative tokens”, which are not regulated by them or covered by any compensation scheme.

Kim Kardashian has not responded to the accusations yet. Randell warned: “If you buy them, you should be prepared to lose all your money.”