• Home
  • News
  • Fortune 500
  • Tech
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Some Fortune Crypto pricing data is provided by Binance.
The CoinsEthereum

DJ Khaled Is the Latest Celebrity to Endorse an Ethereum ICO

Robert Hackett
By
Robert Hackett
Robert Hackett
Down Arrow Button Icon
Robert Hackett
By
Robert Hackett
Robert Hackett
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 28, 2017, 7:10 PM ET

Music producer and social media star DJ Khaled (born Khaled Mohamed Khaled) is getting into the crypto-pumping business.

Khaled is the latest celebrity to become a pitchman for an initial coin offering, or ICO, a hot fundraising mechanism that cryptocurrency startups have been using to sell their own digital tokens. The trend, which many industry watchers have compared to a bubble, has entrepreneurs minting hundreds of millions of dollars out of little more than a business plan and some computer code.

Khaled posted a picture of himself posing in a white armchair while grasping a bottle of Cîroc vodka to his Instagram account on Wednesday evening. In his other hand he holds aloft a silver payment card.

“I just received my titanium centra debit card. The Centra Card & Centra Wallet app is the ultimate winner in Cryptocurrency debit cards powered by CTR tokens!” Khaled wrote in the caption.

Raymond Trapani, chief operating officer of Centra Tech, the startup whose products are featured in the post, told Fortune that Khaled is, as of Monday, an “official brand ambassador and managing partner” of the company. Trapani also said Centra Tech signed pro boxer Floyd Mayweather, who postedtwice about the ICO this month, for the same position.

Spokespeople for Khaled and Mayweather could not immediately be reached for comment.

“Use your bitcoins, ethereum, and more cryptocurrencies in real time across the globe,” Khaled wrote. “This is a Game changer here. Get your CTR tokens now! #CryptoBilli #Bitcoin #Ethereum#Digitalcurrency”

Many of these ICOs use tokens based on Ethereum, a network that lets people spin up their own digital currencies. Some projects create entirely new blockchains, adaptations of the shared ledger technology that first made its name powering Bitcoin.

Khaled joins a growing list of celebrities that have lent their fame to the promotion of an ICO. He is preceded by Mayweather, hotel heiress Paris Hilton, soccer star Luis Suarez, and actor Jamie Foxx.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter

As my Fortune colleague Jeff John Roberts has pointed out, it is unclear whether these celebrities will be held to account if financial regulators deem that the projects they’ve been promoting are engaged in the sale of unregistered securities. At least one ill-fated project, The Dao, was recently found to have flouted federal securities law by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

China recently banned ICOs outright.

This article is part of Fortune’s new initiative, The Ledger, a trusted news source at the intersection of tech and finance. Click here for more on The Ledger.

About the Author
Robert Hackett
By Robert Hackett
Instagram iconLinkedIn iconTwitter icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.