Kim Kardashian to pay $1.26M to settle SEC crypto charges
The SEC alleged that the celebrity billionaire used her Instagram account to tout EthereumMax’s token, EMAX, without adding any disclaimer that she was being given $250,000 to publish the posts.
Kim Kardashian will pay $1.26 million to settle federal charges that she promoted a cryptocurrency without disclosing she was paid to do so, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Monday.
The SEC alleged that the celebrity billionaire and reality TV star used her Instagram account — followed by 331 million people — to tout EthereumMax’s token, EMAX, without disclosing that she was being given $250,000 in exchange. EMAX is a token built on the popular Ethereum blockchain. Its value has fallen by more than 99 percent since peaking in May 2021.
“Are you guys into crypto????” Kardashian wrote in a June 2021 post, according to the SEC’s order. “This is not financial advice but sharing what my friends just told me about the Ethereum Max token!”
Kardashian provided links to where potential investors could learn how to buy the digital currency. And while Kardashian did include “#AD” on the bottom of the post, the SEC said Kardashian should have disclosed that she had received compensation as well as the amount paid.
Kardashian lawyer Patrick Gibbs, a partner at the Cooley law firm, said in a statement that Kardashian is “pleased to have resolved this matter with the SEC.” He added that the agreement allows her to “move forward with her many different business pursuits.”
The 41-year-old Kardashian was just one of many celebrities who rushed into the crypto market as trading boomed in 2020 and 2021. A crash earlier this year wiped out more than $2 trillion in value.