A new study confirms the suspicions of many cryptocurrency users: most financial advice on social media is ineffective, and some posts are even unethical.
Researchers from Queen Mary University of London analyzed nearly 2,500 influencers on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube*, and surveyed over 4,200 adult UK residents. The results were as follows:
- Nearly 90% of all influencers' posts contained more negative than positive aspects, including low-quality sources of information and weak financial analysis.
- Only 8-9% of posts disclosed the author's real financial expertise.
- Only 12-13% contained any disclaimers.
- Two in five adult UK residents stated that they use social media to obtain financial advice, compared to roughly one in ten who consult a licensed professional.
Analysts from Chainalysis looked at the situation from a different perspective:
- 2,063,519 tokens were launched in 2024.
- 873,957 of them were listed on decentralized exchanges.
- Chainalysis identified 74,037 tokens launched in 2024 as resembling a 'pump and dump' scheme.
- In approximately 94% of cases, the wallet that created the liquidity pool also conducted the dump (sold off assets).
The average duration of a suspicious scheme was 6.23 days. The median suspected 'pump and dump' scheme did not last even a day, indicating that most tokens were sold immediately after launch.
In April 2026, an operation conducted by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) with the participation of 17 regulators from around the world directly targeted this problem:
- 120 financial influencer accounts were flagged for removal.
- These accounts were responsible for 1,267 illegal financial advertisements.
- The ads reached at least 2,338,372 accounts in the UK.
- 66% of these advertisements were placed by individuals or companies already on the FCA's warning list.
* Companies owned by Meta Corporation are recognized as extremist on the territory of Russia and are banned.
