Michael Clarke called out by John Hempton over initial coin offering promotion

Famed hedge fund manager John Hempton has taken a swing at retired cricketer Michael Clarke over his promotion of an ICO.

Michael Clarke. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Famed hedge fund manager John Hempton has taken a swing at former Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke, calling ‘no ball’ on the ex-underwear model’s promotion of an initial coin offering (ICO).

Mr Clarke is an ambassador for Global Tech, a “crypto community for the people by the people” based in Brisbane, which is raising between $10m and $50m to build out its cryptocurrency trading and education platform.

“We are a group of savvy professionals who have a passion for blockchain technology and how cryptocurrency can benefit the entire world,” the company says on its website.

“Our platform will connect cryptocurrency traders across the globe, from novice investors to elite strategists, to allow everyone to benefit from the next generation of financial investment technology.”

Exciting times ahead 👌🏻👍🏻 https://t.co/kFey7jqCLF pic.twitter.com/iTW3NX28S0

— Michael Clarke (@MClarke23) August 8, 2018

Statistics show the project is more likely to fail than not. Research from Bitcoin.com released earlier this year found the failed and semi-failed rate is over 59 per cent for 2017 ICO companies, with the total funding for failed projects from 2017 at $US233m. The study found with most companies who had successfully raised funds, their teams had then gone off the radar or the community withered away.

Global Tech was co-founded by former furniture retail executive Andrew McLean and self-described cryptocurrency enthusiast Marlon Donaire.

Mr Clarke, who quit all forms of cricket in 2015, is quoted on the crypto play’s website and his personal Twitter account as being really excited to be involved with Global Tech.

“Their ambition and their drive is something that I resonated with straight away and I can’t wait to learn more about blockchain technologies,” he said.

Mr Hempton, who infamously made a $US5m profit by short selling Valeant Pharmaceutical’s stock between 2014 and 2017, said Mr Clarke must have fallen on hard times.

“He is here — late cycle — squandering his reputation on an initial coin offering,” the Bronte Capital founder wrote.

“Whether Michael Clarke is breaking Australian law regarding advertising investments with this tweet I will leave for ASIC and their lawyers to decide. But it is pretty darn gutter thing to do with your reputation.

“And dear Mr Clarke, cricket is a game where fair play is central. You are tossing your reputation just as surely as if you used sandpaper on the ball.

Which of course your successor as Australian cricket captain did.”

He added Mr Clarke had blocked the investor on Twitter.

Hey, I got blocked by an ex Australian cricket captain for suggesting an ICO might be bad for his reputation... pic.twitter.com/eewrClyq73

— John_Hempton (@John_Hempton) August 8, 2018

“Steve Smith at least had the decency to appear contrite,” Mr Hempton wrote.

“I will be less forgiving of you.”

ASIC has shut down several dodgy ICOs this year for breaching the corporations act, with the regulator cracking down on misleading and deceptive conduct after having received delegated powers from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Twitter meanwhile joined Facebook earlier this year in banning cryptocurrency ads, and Michael Clarke’s GlobalTech tweet would seemingly fall foul of those rules.

“We are committed to ensuring the safety of the Twitter community,” a Twitter spokesman said in March.

“As such, we have added a new policy for Twitter ads relating to cryptocurrency. Under this new policy, the advertisement of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and token sales will be prohibited globally.