The new rules of Indian crypto advertisements limit the size and phrasing of disclaimers, and also make it illegal to portray the stock market as a “get rich quick plan.”
On Wednesday, the Advertising Stands Council of India (ASCI) issued a set of 12 recommendations regarding the promotion and advertisement of virtual digital assets (VDA), such as cryptocurrency.
According to ASCI, the top advertising watchdog created the new rule for Indian crypto advertisements after thorough consultation with crypto ecosystem stakeholders as well as the government.
The advertising standards are also the country’s first legislative foundation for the digital asset market, coming at a time when the government is still working on a crypto bill.
The new crypto advertising framework is due to take effect on April 1, the same day as the controversial 30 percent crypto tax is set to take effect.
Let’s take a look at five major conclusions from the rules that will affect the future of content in crypto company ads.
- After April 22, all crypto marketing must include a disclaimer stating that crypto and NFT products are unregulated and “extremely dangerous.” The disclaimer must be displayed in all of the major languages.
- A crypto asset cannot be compared to the regulated assets in the advertisement.
- When referring to their products or services, crypto advertisements must avoid using terms like “money,” “securities,” “custodian,” and “depositaries.”
- In no way, shape, or form, crypto ads should pitch their products as a solution to money concerns.
- In order to be profitable, crypto ads must provide clear, accurate, sufficient, and up-to-date information.
The advertising committee also established the print size for disclaimers, as well as how they should be distributed throughout various social media platforms.
Coinscreed spoke with Siddharth Sogani, CEO of blockchain analytics business Crebaco.
“This is a great move by the concerned regulators and it is always good to have disclaimers that offer better insight into the market rather than being propagated as “get rich quick scheme”.
Sogani continued, “The new crypto advertising standards also hint at improved crypto frameworks in the future and show that the government is taking stakeholders’ perspectives into account to better regulate.”
Due to the bull market and a large influx of new users on Indian crypto exchanges, aggressive crypto marketing were the topic of Indian media for the majority of the last two quarters of 2021.
In July of last year, the Delhi high court issued an order directing the government to draft proper rules and disclaimers for subsequent Indian crypto advertisements.
