Kim Kardashian Pays $1.26 Million Fine for Crypto Promotion
Celebutante Kim Kardashian has paid $1.26 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to settle charges relating to her promotion of the EthereumMax digital token.
Kardashian promoted the cryptocurrency to her 328 million followers on Instagram in June 2021, triggering an investigation by the SEC.
According to the regulatory body, the reality TV star failed to disclose the fact that she was paid a substantial amount of money to advertise the token. While Kardashian did post the hashtag “#ad,” SEC chair Gary Gensler said in a news release unveiling the charges that the law requires celebrities “to disclose to the public when and how much they are paid to promote investing in securities.”
The crackdown on Kardashian is part of a larger campaign by the regulatory body to protect amateur investors in the wake of the recent “crypto craze.”
Bitcoin Bounces Back Amid Slowing Fed Rate Hikes
Bitcoin crossed the $20,000 threshold once again Tuesday in anticipation of slowing Fed rate hikes.
The bullish momentum of the flagship cryptocurrency is due in part to an announcement by the U.S. Institute of Supply Management (ISM) that its manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) dropped to 50.9 in September, the lowest reading since May 2020, from 52.8 in August. Notably, the index’s new orders and employment measures contracted, strengthening the case for the Fed pivot.
“It’s been a case of ‘bad news is good news’ for equities, with the market treating the downside surprise to the ISM index as increasing the chances of an earlier Fed pause, seen as positive for risk assets,” Bank of New Zealand’s research team said Tuesday.
Bitcoin tends to move more or less in line with equities and has halved this year in terms of market value, with the Fed raising rates by 300 basis points.
McDonald’s in a Swiss Town Now Accepting Bitcoin, Tether
A McDonald’s located in the 63,000-populated city of Lugano in the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland is now accepting Bitcoin and Tether.
The region is becoming a hotspot for crypto adoption in Western Europe, and local franchisees are looking to get in on the action.
It was only a matter of time before the world’s biggest fast food chain began accepting cryptocurrency. That day is finally here. If anyone was still on the fence about whether Bitcoin has staying power, the recent adoption of the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency by the McDonald’s may be the final proof that it is not going away any time soon.
On March 3, the city signed a memorandum of understanding with Tether Operations Limited, launching an initiative known as “Plan B.”
In addition to allowing Lugano residents to pay their taxes using crypto, the project will extend payments to parking tickets, public services and tuition fees for students.
Will Tamadoge Become the First $1 Memecoin?
Memecoin project Tamadoge has been making waves this week, as the token’s price surged over 200% following several significant listings.
Crypto-hungry investors can now buy TAMA through centralized exchanges (CEXs) like OKX and BitMart, with the token also available on decentralized exchange (DEX) Uniswap.
OKX was the first major CEX to list Tamadoge last week, allowing traders to benefit from the hype surrounding the project. According to CoinMarketCap, OKX has over 1.4 million weekly visitors and regularly handles more than $1.3 billion in daily trading volume.
