Emojis are inching closer to word-hood

Late last week, a federal court in New York ruled that emojis like 🚀,📈, and 💰 count as legal investment advice – even if the word “profit” is never mentioned.

The ruling came in a lawsuit filed against blockchain company Dapper Labs, which has been accused of violating US securities laws by offering its NBA Top Shot Moments products (more on that later).

🏀 Background: NBA Top Shot Moments are non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that feature top highlights and video clips from past NBA contests – like a game-winning shot by Steph Curry, or a chase-down block by LeBron James.

• The NFTs are initially created by Dapper Labs and sold to consumers, who can store them in a blockchain wallet or list the NFTs for resale on the Dapper Labs marketplace.
• And so far it’s been pretty successful: the Top Shot Marketplace surpassed $1 billion in all-time sales last May.

The lawsuit is claiming that Top Shot Moments have historically gained or lost value based on the performance of Dapper’s blockchain, so they should be classified as securities similar to stocks and bonds, as opposed to collectibles like sports memorabilia and fidget spinners.

🤔 So, where do emojis come in?... In last week’s ruling, federal judge Victor Marrero cited tweets from Dapper Labs that contained the three emojis shown above (🚀📈💰), saying these emojis “objectively mean one thing: a financial return on investment.”

And much like a planet-destroying asteroid headed towards the Moon, this ruling could have a big future impact. According to former SEC Branch Chief Lisa Braganca, it opens up the possibility of legal consequences for people or organizations that use any of those three emojis to imply future financial gains.