• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • 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 posted twice 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

Latest in The Coins

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
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
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in The Coins

A picture of Bitcoins
The CoinsCryptocurrency
The crypto market may be out of gas as Bitcoin dips under $100k and altcoins plummet
By Carlos GarciaNovember 6, 2025
3 months ago
Brad Garlinghouse smiles at the camera.
The CoinsVenture Capital
Ripple says Fortress, Citadel Securities invest $500 million
By Emily Mason and BloombergNovember 5, 2025
3 months ago
A man in a black hoodie and glasses is speaking
The CoinsCryptocurrency
Altcoin giant Animoca Brands aims to go public next year, listing will test investor appetite for exotic crypto assets
By Carlos GarciaNovember 4, 2025
3 months ago
A man tries to pull a coin with a BTC logo up a mountain.
The CoinsBitcoin
Crypto’s big ‘Uptober’ ends with a whimper, Bitcoin down 4%
By Carlos Garcia and Ben WeissOctober 31, 2025
3 months ago
Two men are looking at monitors while trading
The CoinsCryptocurrency
Crypto’s second wave of ETFs arrives, investors snap up new Solana offering
By Carlos GarciaOctober 31, 2025
3 months ago
Michael Saylor on stage at a Bitcoin conference.
CompaniesBitcoin
Michael Saylor boosts yield, says Strategy is at an ‘inflection point’
By David Pan, Judy Lagrou and BloombergOctober 30, 2025
3 months ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
'Some form of crisis is almost inevitable': The $38 trillion national debt will soon be growing faster than the U.S. economy itself, watchdog warns
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 22, 2026
10 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says ‘a lot’ of six-figure jobs in plumbing and construction are about to be unlocked because someone needs to build all these new AI centers
By Preston ForeJanuary 21, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
Jamie Dimon tells Davos: ‘You didn’t do a particularly good job making the world a better place’
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 21, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Jamie Dimon says he’d have no issue paying higher taxes if it actually went to people who need it. Right now it just goes to the Washington ‘swamp’
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 21, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
AI
Elon Musk says that in 10 to 20 years, work will be optional and money will be irrelevant thanks to AI and robotics
By Sasha RogelbergJanuary 19, 2026
4 days ago
placeholder alt text
Energy
Elon Musk warns the U.S. could soon be producing more chips than we can turn on. And China doesn’t have the same issue
By Sasha RogelbergJanuary 22, 2026
10 hours ago

© 2026 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.