Kim Kardashian is being sued for her connections to cryptocurrency, EthereumMax (EMAX) which has lost enormous value since June last year.
The reality star and influencer caused a ruckus last year when she promoted the little-known cryptocurrency on her Instagram page with hashtag #ad and caption, “Are you guys into crypto???? This is not financial advice but sharing what my friends just told me about the Ethereum Max token!”
According to CNBC, Kardashian is being sued along with fellow celebrity promoter, Floyd Mayweather, and the EMAX company itself, for perpetrating what accusers believe was a “pump-and-dump” scheme, in which promoters boost the price of an asset through fraudulent or misleading claims.
The plaintiff, Ryan Huegerich, said he was representing everyone who brought the EMAX coins between May 14 and June 27 last year, after which the crypto’s price plummeted an astonishing 97 per cent.
Huegerich, who lives in New York, said he “suffered investment losses as a result of Defendants’ conduct.”
EMax has since released a statement to Rolling Stone, accusing the class-action lawsuit of being a “deceptive narrative” that was “riddled with misinformation.”
“This project has prided itself on being one of the most transparent and communicative projects in the cryptocurrency space,” it continued.
“We dispute the allegations and look forward to the truth coming out.”
Although both Kardashian’s and Mayweather’s representatives are yet to make a statement, it should be noted this is not the latter’s first crypto rodeo.
In 2018, the boxing legend was forced to pay $US600,000 to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, after being accused of controversially using crowdfunding to pump a coin’s price.
Last year, Mayweather promoted the EMAX tokens and accepted them as payments for tickets to his exhibition match with YouTube star, Logan Paul.
He was even booed off stage last year after endorsing EMAX at an exclusive Bitcoin conference.
While we all revel in the rich kids being knocked down a peg or two, one can’t help struggling to summon compassion for those taking crypto advice from reality TV stars and boxers.
