Coin Floor – a cryptocurrency exchange in the United Kingdom – is taking some flack over a recent ad that allegedly took aim at pensioners. The ad talked about the benefits of crypto investing, though it has since been banned by national regulators.

Coin Floor Sees Its Ad Get Knocked Down

The ad has been deemed “socially irresponsible” and “misleading,” as according to official complaints, it did not address the many risks associated with cryptocurrency investing. In a statement, the Advertising Standards Authority claimed that the ad must undergo serious edits before it is played again to viewers. The statement reads as follows:

We told Coin Floor to ensure that future marketing communications made sufficiently clear that the value of investments in bitcoin was variable and could go down as well as up, that Coin Floor and the bitcoin market were unregulated, and that they also did not irresponsibly suggest that purchasing bitcoin represented a secure investment of one’s savings or pension.

The advertisement reportedly suggested that buying bitcoin was a solid way of investing one’s savings or pension funds. However, this could ultimately be deemed speculative as bitcoin – along with many forms of crypto – is rather volatile and can move up or down at a moment’s notice. While at press time, the currency is trading for a whopping $55,000, the asset has recently undergone a serious drop of about $6,000, as it was trading for about $61,000 early last week.

In addition, the currency experienced its worst year in 2018. The asset fell into the mid-$3,000 range in November of that year after it had been trading for more than $18,000 just ten months before. Thus, anyone who bought bitcoin in 2017 – a year when the currency was experiencing meteoric rises – likely incurred heavy losses.

The issue of pension funding via bitcoin is also quite sensitive in that such money is often used by retired individuals. Thus, their income is limited, and taking chances with this income when it is primarily designated for survival purposes can be chancy.

Coin Floor has struck back at the advertising authority, claiming that the ad was not irresponsible and that there was nothing in the message to suggest bitcoin was a wise or palpable investment. In addition, the firm says it has never made the claim that anyone could make money by investing in BTC. Lastly, it said that none of the information presented in the ad stemmed from personal opinions held by Coin Floor or company staff members.

Fighting the Good Fight?

The enterprise explained:

The UK’s regulatory authorities are clearly worried that the price volatility and product complexity of such assets places consumers at a high risk of losses. Despite the endorsement of high-profile individuals like Elon Musk and an increasing number of firms and financial institutions ploughing money in, investing in crypto assets should only be undertaken with a well-diversified portfolio.

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