\n
Placeholder while article actions load<\/title><\/div>\n<div class=\"teaser-content grid-center\">\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">A certain pet-themed cryptocurrency that needs no extra publicity from me says it\u2019s\u00a0back\u00a0marketing its digital wares on London\u2019s public transport system. Only this time, its advertisements\u00a0bear\u00a0the paw-prints of regulators.\u00a0After an initial campaign was banned for dangling mega-gains to investors, it now touts itself as\u00a0a source of \u201cecosystems\u201d and \u201ccrypto education.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">The small print reminds passengers that crypto is unregulated\u00a0and can go down as well as up \u2013 not exactly the stuff of Mad Men. But it\u2019s\u00a0symbolic of a hype-driven sector that\u2019s been chastened by the first snowflakes of a crypto winter, with a boom in pandemic speculation giving way to plunging prices, job cuts and regulatory crackdowns.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">In the racier world of social media, though, things are a bit different. \u201cCrypto Twitter,\u201d\u00a0which Elon Musk looks set to become responsible for, shows no such restraint \u2014 and, along with other platforms, has long been a magnet for hype, dodgy research\u00a0tips and very real scams. More than\u00a095,000 people reported a cumulative $770 million in losses to fraud initiated on social media in 2021, according to the Federal Trade Commission.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">Musk himself has promised to drain the network\u2019s swamp of scams, spams and bots \u2014\u00a0a worthy goal, but a contradictory one, given they thrive in the same frictionless hive of communication that makes Twitter Inc.\u2019s money. Musk also seems to want to hitch Twitter\u2019s wagon closer to\u00a0the crypto train, tweeting ideas such as overhauling its subscription non-fungible tokens\u00a0service\u00a0and accepting Dogecoin payments.\u00a0Most crypto ads are officially restricted on Twitter\u00a0and require prior approval, though promoters have found other ways to get the word out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">Given the winds of regulatory change are blowing harder these days, it might be an\u00a0ideal time for Musk to deliver on his promised clean-up. He\u00a0likes to promote himself as a champion of\u00a0free speech, and maybe plans to emulate the success of Asian social media\u00a0in generating profits from digital tokens.\u00a0But if fraud keeps growing there\u2019s every chance consumer-protection watchdogs will start knocking on online doors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">Some of this is already happening. The U.K. government recently pledged to make top social-media platforms responsible for fighting fraudulent ads on their services, and also wants to crack down on ads that contain so-called cryptojacking\u00a0malware that mines crypto without permission.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">And\u00a0the European Central Bank\u2019s Fabio Panetta, in a withering speech this week laying out the case for a comprehensive tightening of crypto regulation,\u00a0blasted social media for exacerbating the Fear Of Missing Out among newcomers to the trading game\u00a0while underplaying\u00a0the associated risks. More than half of under-40s are incentivized to make a high-risk investment because of this, according to the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">Without changes, Twitter is in danger of becoming synonymous with more than just free speech. It has become part of a crypto market that relies on word of mouth to keep bringing in new users to justify inflated prices.\u00a0When Sam Bankman-Fried, boss of crypto exchange FTX, recently described an imaginary yield-farming crypto project as growing in value through financial-engineering \u201cmagic\u201d and\u00a0word of mouth, he invoked the gang that hangs around the Twitter water cooler as key participants in boosting virtual values.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">Twitter has taken over whatever role the shoe-shiner\u2019s\u00a0stock tip used to play. This may come back to haunt it. Co-founder and Bitcoiner\u00a0Jack Dorsey in October tweeted about\u00a0looming \u201chyperinflation.\u201d\u00a0inflation rates have risen since then but Bitcoin has been a terrible hedge, falling more than 40%.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">To be sure, Musk is unlikely to suddenly turn his back on the speculative megaphone that calls to\u00a0crypto\u00a0trolls, evangelists and newbies alike. After all, if he is so often a\u00a0target of mimicry by scammers, it\u2019s because he\u2019s a troll himself. He used Twitter to announce both Tesla\u2019s plan to accept\u00a0payments in Bitcoin and its later U-turn on the policy. His dabbling in\u00a0Dogecoin unleashed his memestock and memecoin potential.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">But if Twitter is going to monetize its network through ways other than ads, making it a less dangerous place for people\u2019s wallets would be a start. Pet-themed crypto promotion\u00a0should be tamed everywhere \u2014\u00a0online, as well as on London buses.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">More From Bloomberg Opinion:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">\u2022 Matt Levine\u2019s Money Stuff: Elon Musk Got His Deal for Twitter<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">\u2022 Elon Musk\u2019s Tesla Master Plan Won\u2019t Fit Twitter: Liam Denning<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">\u2022 Elon Musk Is the Wrong Leader for Twitter\u2019s Vital Role: Timothy O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">Lionel Laurent is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering the European Union and France. He worked previously at Reuters and Forbes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">More stories like this are available on <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/opinion\" rel=\"noopener\">bloomberg.com\/opinion<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"b bt bc-offblack dn-ns hide-for-print\" \/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/business\/elon-musks-twitter-has-acryptocurrency-swamp-to-drain\/2022\/04\/28\/42591b94-c6b9-11ec-8cff-33b059f4c1b7_story.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Placeholder while article actions load A certain pet-themed cryptocurrency that needs no extra publicity from me says it\u2019s\u00a0back\u00a0marketing its digital wares on London\u2019s public transport system. Only this time, its advertisements\u00a0bear\u00a0the paw-prints of regulators.\u00a0After an initial campaign was banned for dangling mega-gains to investors, it now touts itself as\u00a0a source of \u201cecosystems\u201d and \u201ccrypto education.\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[36],"tags":[7651,7569,589,2583,7652,1569],"class_list":["post-15148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrency","tag-acryptocurrency","tag-drain","tag-elon","tag-musks","tag-swamp","tag-twitter"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IDYFBWGGXEI6ZDH7GOYFT5GBW4.jpgw1440.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15148"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15148\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15150,"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15148\/revisions\/15150"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}