• The US court ruled that using emojis related to rocket ships, stock charts, and money bags could be classified as investment advice.
• Former SEC branch chief Lisa Braganca warned the public against using certain emojis in promotional materials following the court ruling.
• Dapper Labs was accused of promoting NBA Shot Moments as investment opportunities through its marketing materials with carefully selected emojis.
Court Ruling: Emojis Can Be Used As Investment Advice
The US court ruled on February 22 that using emojis relating to rocket ships, stock charts, and money bags could be classified as investment advice. This ruling came from a lawsuit filed against Dapper Labs and its CEO Roham Gharegozlou for allegedly violating securities laws by offering its NBA Top Shot Moments.
Former SEC Branch Chief Warns Against Using Certain Emojis
Following the court ruling, former SEC branch chief Lisa Braganca warned the public against using certain emojis in promotional materials via Twitter. The plaintiffs accused Dapper Labs of promoting NBA Shot Moments as investment opportunities, through its marketing materials with carefully selected emojis. The tweets contained rocket ship, stock market, and money bags emoji to show market performance.
What are NBA Top Shot Moments?
NBA Top Shot Moments are non-fungible tokens (NFT) that capture key highlights and video clips from NBA games. They are digital collectibles which have gained immense popularity recently due to their scarcity and collectability factor.
Dapper Lab’s Arguments
Dapper Labs has argued that the use of the emojis in the tweets was intended to provide accuracy to market data and not a means of promoting sales. However, several members of the crypto community have argued that Emojis could mean different things to different folks; hence a rule on its usage could impede freedom of speech.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is clear that using certain emojis when promoting investments can lead to legal implications if it is seen as an attempt at providing financial advice or encouraging buyers/investors to purchase/invest in a particular asset or product without disclosing all relevant information about it first. Therefore caution should be taken when utilizing them for potential marketing purposes in order to avoid any potential issues with regulators or other entities in the future.