Chairman Charles Randell of the Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom spoke on Monday of the concerns that many regulators have over the promotion of cryptocurrencies by influencers.

In what I'd be confident to call at least somewhat over-the-top, Randell called forth a passage from The Twelve Labors of Heracles to describe the evolution of the internet, at least from his perspective.

"The Augean stables hadn't been cleaned for 30 years when Hercules was set the labor of cleaning them. For 30 years, 3,000 animals had been doing in those stables what 3,000 animals have to do. The first website was published 30 years ago last month. And like the Augean stables, over the last 30 years, the internet has filled up with a great deal of ... well, let's just call it 'problematic content,'" Randell said.

The focus of Randell's subsequent tongue lashing was celebrity Kim Kardashian, whom he criticized for promoting "Ethereum Max," a speculative token not affiliated with Bitcoin's growing rival. While Randell stated that he couldn't be sure if the token was a scam, the unproven and obscure nature of the currency, and the many scam currencies that have been used to steal money from speculative crypto traders, the influencer should have at least disclosed that the currency had no affiliation with the Ethereum Foundation.

At the core of Randell's argument is FOMO, or Fear Of Missing Out. Stories of smash successes in retail securities trading and casual crypto investing have perpetually been shared through social media, driving ongoing interest among everyday investors. Unfortunately, many do not appear to conduct any baseline research before investing, often following whatever advice may come from their desired influencers and online figures.

The vast majority of speculative tokens are not monitored by regulators, including the U.K.'s FCA and the Securities Exchange Commission of the United States. To this end, Randell warned, "If you buy them, you should be prepared to lose all your money."

The lack of content moderation and disclosures over the nature of cryptocurrencies promoted online has already claimed millions of dollars from innocent victims, unaware of the ease with which cryptocurrency infrastructure can be used for theft. For this reason, Randell called on platforms such as TikTok to enact new content moderation rules.

Randell's call is so far joined only by SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, who has warned of the growing fraud among cryptocurrencies. Gensler has also called for legislation to enact protections for investors.