New Scottish crypto ad campaign focuses on risks

UK-based money app Ziglu, which offers access to a range of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, has launched an advertising campaign in Edinburgh highlighting the risks of crypto investing.

The campaign, which has the slogan ‘Scotland, Your Capital is at Risk’, will appear in more than 200 outdoor locations and will run until 5 September 2021.

Earlier this year, Luno Money’s Bitcoin advert was banned from the London Underground and London buses amid concerns that it was “misleading”. The ad read: “If you’re seeing Bitcoin on the Underground, its time to buy.”

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld complaints against the advert, saying it gave the impression that a Bitcoin investments was straightforward and accessible when it is in fact complex, unregulated and volatile.

Ziglu said it launched its campaign to highlight how to manage the risks by investing safely, little and often. Research from the company found that by April, 12 per cent of Scots had bought crypto, up from seven per cent from January, possibly driven by its huge rise in value.

Read more: Cryptocurrency investors ‘dabbling’ with the asset class

“Our app has been specifically designed to help investors that are new to crypto understand the risks and rewards in investing,” said Mark Hipperson, founder and chief executive of Ziglu.

“For example, we enable investing small sums of money – starting from £1 – so that our customers can test the market first before deciding whether crypto is right for them. We believe crypto is a long-term play, and everyone should have the opportunity to invest in it for the future – but also to be able to do so wisely.

“We chose to launch our latest campaign in Edinburgh because being a capital city, we felt the audience here would recognise the underlying message, but also because it has a long history as a financial centre and is a leading fintech hub.”

In August, research from Ziglu found that 39 per cent of UK cryptocurrency investors have sold some of their holdings in the past 12 months to capitalise on their gains.

And in July the money app found that one in 10 UK adults currently own cryptocurrencies and 11 per cent are considering buying some for the first time over the next 12 months.