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DJ Khaled and Floyd Mayweather fined for illegally promoting ICOs
Last year the SEC issued a warning to celebrities promoting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency offerings, saying they "must disclose the nature, scope, and amount of compensation received in exchange for the promotion." That warning carried a bit more bite than other advisories about sponsored posts on social media, owing to the involvement of federal securities laws. A failure to heed that warning has cost two high-profile promoters of one particularly scammy initial coin offering (ICO): DJ Khaled and boxer Floyd Mayweather. Both took money to promote Centra Tech, an ICO that eventually led to fraud charges for several of its masterminds. The SEC found that Mayweather took $100,000 to promote the Centra token, as well as $200,000 to promote two other ICOs, in posts like an Instagram message where he told his millions of followers "You can call me Floyd Crypto Mayweather from now on." DJ Khaled was paid $50,000 to promote Centra Tech -- facts neither mentioned in their social media posts. While they avoided admitting any wrongdoing, both will have to give up the money they were paid, along with an additional $300,000 penalty for Mayweather to go with a $100,000 fine for DJ Khaled (plus interest). While this year's drop in prices for Bitcoin and other tokens has taken a lot of the steam out of social media posts promising "get rich quick" ICOs, the SEC said its investigation is ongoing, and it's possible these won't be the last social media marketers targeted for their activity. Of course it could be worse -- they could've been promoting another Fyre Festival.
B&O to release its own celebrity-endorsed headphones with DJ Khaled
Beats has Dr. Dre and a host of artists and popular athletes sporting its headphones. Soul and SMS Audio both have a stable of recognizable users as well. Now, high-end audio outfit Bang & Olufsen are joining the endorsement fray with DJ Khaled. Announcing the new endeavor on his Instagram account, the rapper/producer revealed a trio of color options -- some of which are quite the departure from B&O's usual aesthetics -- but few details. "I take pride in crafting a sound based on time, care and, most importantly, the best quality sound on the planet," says DJ Khaled. Of course, we'll have to wait until the new BeoPlay H6s arrive before we can determine for sure if all he does is in fact win. The regular cans are already priced at $399, so we'd surmise the upcoming offerings would hit the wallet for larger investment. If this inaugural release doesn't appeal to you, more artist collaborations are on the way in the near future.
