American media personality, socialite, model, and businesswoman, Kim Kardashian has agreed to pay a $1.26m (£1.12m) fine for advertising EthereumMax on her Instagram page.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission said the reality-TV star had received $250,000 for advertising the cryptocurrency, without disclosing she had been paid to do so.
She also agreed not to promote crypto asset securities for three years.
Her lawyer told BBC News: “Ms Kardashian is pleased to have resolved this matter with the SEC.”
The lawyer said: “Kardashian fully cooperated with the SEC from the very beginning and she remains willing to do whatever she can to assist the SEC in this matter.
“She wanted to get this matter behind her to avoid a protracted dispute.
“The agreement she reached with the SEC allows her to do that so that she can move forward with her many different business pursuits.”
Ms Kardashian, boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr, basketball player Paul Pierce and EthereumMax’s creators were sued by investors in January,.
The legal action alleged they had collaborated to “misleadingly promote and sell” the cryptocurrency in a “pump and dump” scheme designed to inflate the price before selling to investors.
EthereumMax disputed the allegations at the time.
In spite of its name, EthereumMax has no legal or business connection with the Ethereum cryptocurrency.
Gary Gensler, who chairs the SEC, called the case a “reminder” celebrity endorsement did not necessarily make a product worth investing in.
“Ms Kardashian’s case also serves as a reminder to celebrities and others that the law requires them to disclose to the public when and how much they are paid to promote investing in securities,” he said.
Later, in a YouTube video about crypto investment, he added: “Celebrity endorsements… don’t mean that an investment product is right for you or even, frankly, that it’s legitimate.
“Even if a celebrity endorsement is genuine, each investment has its own risk and opportunities.
“When it comes to crypto, remember many of these are highly speculative assets.
“You may be wondering if it’s right for you or even if it might be a scam.”
