Kim Kardashian’s crypto settlement with SEC: Star to pay $1.26 million

LOS ANGELES – Kim Kardashian has agreed to pay $1.26 million to settle allegations by the Securities and Exchange Commission that she promoted cryptocurrency on Instagram without disclosing that she was paid $250,000 for it.

The SEC said Monday that the reality TV star and entrepreneur have agreed to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.

The SEC said Kardashian failed to disclose what she was paid to post on her Instagram account about EMAX tokens, the crypto-asset securities offered by EthereumMax.

Kardashian’s post contained a link to the EthereumMax website, which provided instructions for potential investors to purchase EMAX tokens.

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“Federal securities laws clearly state that any celebrity or other person promoting crypto-assets must disclose the nature, source, and amount of compensation they received in exchange for the promotion,” Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, said in a statement. in a prepared statement.

Kardashian agreed not to promote crypto-asset securities for three years.

“Ms. Kardashian is pleased to have settled this matter with the SEC. Kardashian has fully cooperated with the SEC from the beginning, and she remains willing to do whatever she can to assist the SEC in this matter. She wanted to put this matter behind her, to avoid a protracted dispute. The settlement she reached with the SEC allows her to do so so she can move forward in her various business endeavors,” Kardashian’s attorney said in a statement.

While Kardashian is well known for her reality TV show, currently appearing on Hulu’s Keeping Up With The Kardashians, she is also a successful businesswoman. Its brands include SKIMS, which produces shapewear, leisurewear and other products, and a skincare line called SKKN.

Cryptocurrency is facing increasing attention from Congress. The the latest bipartisan proposal came in August from Sens. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and John Boozman, R-Ark. This would transfer the authority to regulate Bitcoin and Ether to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

MORE: The new crypto oversight legislation comes as the industry teeters

Bills proposed by other members of Congress and consumer advocates would empower the Securities and Exchange Commission.

This year, crypto investors have seen prices plummet and companies collapse, with wealth and jobs disappearing overnight, while some firms have been accused by federal regulators of running an illegal securities exchange.