Kim Kardashian Seems To Win Crypto Lawsuit

In a tentative court ruling, Kim Kardashian and Floyd Mayweather Jr. won a lawsuit accusing them of scamming EthereumMax investors. According to a complaint filed in January, investors claimed that they paid "inflated prices" for blockchain-based digital assets because EMAX tokens were hyped by the reality star and ex-boxing champion.

The tentative ruling comes just a month after the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Kardashian of failing to disclose that she had been paid $250,000 to post about tokens on Instagram. The celebrity had agreed to pay $1.26 million to settle allegations that she broke the U.S. rules by touting EMAX tokens.

Lawyers Are Acting Like the SEC, Judge Says

According to Bloomberg, U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald produced a written order on November 7 with a “tentative view” that lawyers defending EMAX investors were “trying to act like” the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) but “haven’t chosen to view the tokens as a security”. He added that the defendants hadn't invoked a standard securities fraud claim in the case. 

Judge Fitzgerald said he would issue a final written order later, but said that the accused celebrities did not “label the tokens as a security for obvious reasons.” Lawyers for Kardashian, 42, and Mayweather, 45, have failed to comment ahead of the final ruling.

The Ruling Brings SEC Regulation Back Into View

Kardashian ran into trouble after a June 2021 Instagram in which she wrote: “Are you guys into crypto? This is not financial advice but sharing what my friends told me about the ethereum max token!” The token surged after the post to her over 200 million followers but has since crashed back to the same level it was at the time of the tweet, reminiscent of a "pump and dump".

The latest court ruling on cryptocurrency marketing places SEC regulatory efforts back in the spotlight. The regulator has been locked in a long-running court battle with executives of Ripple, founders of the XRP token, over its status as a security. 

The Bottom Line

The court victory for Kim Kardashian and other celebrity crypto endorsers highlights the need for clarity about cryptocurrencies as security. Upon hearing the ruling, the SEC may double its efforts to have the final say.