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The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has released guidelines for the promotion of cryptocurrency and virtual assets related services.
It prohibits advertisers to use certain words that may lure consumers into thinking that these services are regulated and requiring them to include a specific disclaimer that warns of the ‘highly risky’ nature of these assets.
The move comes amid advertising campaigns observed over the past few months, many of which failed to adequately disclose the risks associated with such products.
Starting April 01, 2022, all virtual asset-related ads will need to carry a disclaimer that reads: ‘Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions’.
This disclaimer should be made to be prominent and unmissable by the average consumer, the. In social media posts, it must be carried in both the caption as well as any picture or video attachment. In video, it must be placed at the end of the ad against a plain background, and a voiceover must accompany the disclaimer in text. And in long format audio of over 90 seconds, it must be spoken at both the beginning and the end of the ad.
Advertisers are prohibited to use the words ‘currency’, ‘securities’, ‘custodian’, and ‘depositories’ since consumers often associate these terms with regulated products.
The guidelines were developed following consultation with different stakeholders including the government and the virtual digital asset industry and follows similar moves from regulators in Singapore and Spain.
The CBDC will be a legal tender issued in digital form by the Reserve Bank of India and will be interchangeable with any other currency. It will be numbered in units and could potentially enable a more real-time and cost-effective globalisation of payment systems, according to the central bank.
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