Crypto exchanges to pause on advertising for now in India
I have written about private capital flowing into Indian crypto exchanges in the past. Given China's crackdown on tech and crypto, India was destined to be the next big destination for VC money. The growth numbers for Indians investing in crypto have also been quite high and thus, bound to attract VC money to the crypto ecosystem. One sign of large capital being infused into the crypto ecosystem in India was the rapid rise in crypto advertisements in India.
Many crypto exchanges are now advertising dedicated shows on prominent news media outlets. They were also sponsoring YouTubers to talk about how easy it is to make money by trading cryptocurrencies. Big sports events were also counting crypto exchanges as their sponsors. Most new people investing in crypto right now that are motivated by such advertisements have not seen a crypto bear cycle. When a crash comes, it is big and long and can put anyone under financial distress.
While advertising isn't bad, hyped-up advertising promising great returns without talking about risks and tech is a bad thing in my opinion. Hypes often also lead to scams and are bad for an industry that is yet to be regulated. Moreover, India's financial regulator and central bank think that crypto is a threat to financial stability. If at all people start reporting scams, then that is a bad omen for the future of crypto.
Advertising has to be responsible. Crypto shows sponsored by a crypto exchange cannot be honest talk shows. The exchange is sponsoring the show and is spending money to attract new users to make money. It will want to ensure that the show is all positive about crypto. Random celebrities who do not understand the tech are telling people how cool crypto is. Take this advert for example -
"Cryptocurrency is the future", says the advert. At a time when there is no regulatory clarity on cryptocurrency in India and the risk of a ban remains, I doubt that one can make a claim that cryptocurrency is the future. This is just one example. TV channels are being bombarded by such adverts all day long. It has caused everyone to talk about cryptocurrencies and even India's Prime Minister saw it as a concern.
Well, now crypto exchanges in India have decided to stop crypto adverts for now. Till when? Till there is some clarity on what kind of ads can be shown i.e. ads that the government will not find misleading. The Indian government does now allow ads for alcohol and cigarettes on TV. But advertisers have found a way around that. Of course, there will be no ban on ads for crypto as that too will be extreme but if ads can be made honest and responsible then that will be a welcome step.
Hi @karamyog.
We should all be aware that advertising is to promote a product and this incurs in omitting or saying things that are not entirely true, the point is to make the product famous. In the case of cryptocurrencies as it is something new for its users the best we should do is to inform ourselves as best as possible with reliable sources and not be manipulated by third parties.
Greetings
Agreed, but people are gullible and governments should step in when required.
Greetings @karamyog , in India with all the problems that have been generated by cryptocurrencies and the government's fight against them, it is better to stop a little advertising and wait for things to flow until the situation improves.
advertising is ok. just getting all rich celebrities and providing incomplete information is bad. and it is not just crypto, even tiktok influencers telling people about stock markets is in the same category.
Hello @karamyog,
I think it's not a good move, people must understand the value of cryptocurrency they must have knowledge about cyrpto,
If everyone thinks that this is the future then they must first understand the project of crypto world ,
Thank you for sharing
Hey, that's my point. People should understand the benefit of crypto and not just think of it as a get rich quick scheme.
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