Keeping up with crypto... Kim Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather, and other celebs are being sued over promoting alt-coin EthereumMax as part of an alleged crypto scam. The mysterious coin debuted in May claiming to “bridge the gap between community-driven tokens” and legacy crypto — but provided few details.
Crypto’s Wild West… is under scrutiny. While micro-influencers increasingly promote new cryptos, celebs like Kim K have unprecedented reach. As FOMO-driven investors try to score on the $3T crypto market, a growing number of fraudsters are taking advantage. Last year, crypto crimes hit a record $14B, and scammers lured investors with trend-based coins (see: Squid Coin).
Crypto scams are bad for crypto… While some argue that crypto is in the late-adoption phase, celebrity endorsements open the door to millions of new investors who might not have enough information to tell which coins are legit. About 100 new coins are created every day. Scams are further motivating regulators and investors in favor of more transparency and safeguards around crypto.
Correction: In the Snacks newsletter published on Thursday, January 13, we misstated who Floyd Mayweather fought in his high-profile boxing match. It was Logan Paul, not Jake Paul. We’ve updated the online version of the newsletter, and we regret the error.