Kim Kardashian's Crypto Fine Raises Questions About Matt Damon

Kim Kardashian's settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) connected to allegations she promoted a crypto asset security has led to questions about why Matt Damon has not faced similar charges.

An October 3 release from the SEC stated that Kardashian, 41, settled the charges without admitting to or denying the allegations. She will pay $1.26 million in penalties, disgorgement (repayment of profits from illegal transactions) and interest, and she has agreed to cooperate with the agency's ongoing investigation.

The SEC alleged that Kardashian failed to disclose a $250,000 payment to publish a post on her Instagram account promoting EthereumMax's crypto asset security EMAX tokens.

After the charges against Kardashian were announced, a lawyer representing Kardashian, who is worth an estimated $1.8 billion, told Newsweek that she has been cooperating with the investigation.

"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," read the statement from attorney Michael Rhodes. "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."

As the news circulated, a number of social media users asked why The Talented Mr. Ripley star Damon, 51, has not faced similar charges.

From its near-record high around the time of Damon's famous "fortune favors the brave" Crypto.com ad in October 2021, the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies hit record lows.

Bitcoin's decline has had an impact on other cryptocurrencies, with the likes of Ethereum, tether, BNB, Dogecoin and Cardano all facing gradual declines.

A host of memes and comments on Damon's legal standing have flooded Twitter in the hours since Kardashian's settlement was announced.

A verified Twitter account for the Morning Brew newsletter shared pictures of Damon alongside the statement: "I fear no man. But that thing... it scares me," in reference to the SEC logo.

An accompanying caption stated that it was a "scary day to be Matt Damon."

Another tweet shared a screenshot of Damon in the movie Good Will Hunting alongside his late co-star Robin Williams.

"Matt Damon meeting with his lawyers right now," read the caption, written in response to a tweet about Kardashian's settlement.

Dr. Robert Farley, a senior lecturer at the University of Kentucky's Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce, went some way to explaining why Damon has not faced any charges.

"I suppose Matt Damon is safe because everyone knew he got paid for his 'fortune favors the bold' crap," Farley tweeted in reaction to Kardashian's settlement.

Max Raskin, adjunct professor of law at New York University, went further in explaining why Damon will likely not face charges, stating in a tweet that while Kardashian had endorsed a specific product, the actor had touted a platform.

"The reason why Kim had to pay the #SEC and Matt won't is because she was promoting a specific security, while Damon was promoting a platform," Raskin wrote, sharing a link to a scene from Good Will Hunting.

An SEC spokesperson told Newsweek on October 3: "The SEC does not comment on the existence or nonexistence of a possible investigation."

Newsweek has reached out to a representative of Damon for comment.

Damon's Crypto.com ad aired for the first time on October 28, 2021, when the price of Bitcoin was $60,622.14. At that point in time, Bitcoin also had a total market cap of $1.14 trillion.

While there was a slight increase in its value in the days following the release of the ad, the current price of Bitcoin is a shell of its former self. As of Monday, October 3, it is worth $19,418.30. The current market cap stands at $367.38 billion.