"Everything is Fine" — Or is it? UK Watchdog Bans Coinbase Ads 🚫🇬🇧
Coinbase is in the hot seat again in the UK. This week, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) officially banned a major Coinbase campaign, labeling it "irresponsible" for trivializing the risks of crypto.
The Campaign:
Launched in August 2025, the "Everything is Fine" campaign featured a satirical video of a crumbling UK economy—overflowing trash, surging grocery prices, and "out of reach" home ownership—with a cheeky tagline: "If everything’s fine, don’t change anything."
The Verdict: The ASA isn’t laughing. They ruled that using humor to frame crypto as a "solution" to the cost-of-living crisis is dangerous. Key issues included:
Missing Warnings: The ads lacked the mandatory FCA risk disclosures (e.g., "be prepared to lose all your money").
Targeting Vulnerability: Regulators argued the ads could exploit people under financial pressure by making high-risk assets look like an easy fix.
The Bigger Picture:
Despite Coinbase having former UK Chancellor George Osborne on its advisory board, the UK’s "tough love" for crypto marketing continues. Out of 1,700+ warnings issued by the FCA recently, only about half of the non-compliant ads have been removed.
What do you think? Is the UK being too strict, or are these "solution-based" ads crossing a line? 👇