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The Advertising Stands Council of India (ASCI) has issued guidelines for virtual or crypto digital assets-related ads that will take effect starting on or after April 1. Therefore, advertisements from earlier dates cannot be placed on the internet unless they comply with the guidelines.
The ASCI claimed that it had held numerous discussions “with different stakeholders including government and the virtual digital asset industry” to develop the guidelines.
Crypto ad Guidlines:
The first rule of thumb requires advertisements to VDA (virtual digital asset) products as well as VDA exchanges or displaying VDAs, to contain the following statement: “Crypto products and NFTs aren’t regulated and are extremely risky. Therefore, there may not be any regulatory recourse in case of loss resulting due to these transactions.”
As per the guidelines, the terms “currency”, “securities”, “custodian”, and “depositories” should not be used in ads for VDA items or other services because consumers are likely to associate these terms with products that are regulated.
The guidelines also require that the profitability or cost of VDA products should be adequate, precise, and up-to-date information. For instance, “zero cost” will have to include any costs that the customer may reasonably be able to associate with the transaction or offer.
The guidelines contain a condition for “returns for periods of less than 12 months shall not be included” in ads to ensure there is “information on past performance shall not be provided in any partial or biased manner.”
India’s advertising regulator believes that some of the cryptocurrency-related ads “do not adequately disclose the risks associated with such products.”
In November 2021, the Indian Premier Narendra Modi presided over an event to discuss the cryptocurrency’s regulatory implications. there was a consensus that was reached to end “attempts to mislead the youth through over-promising and non-transparent advertising.”