Google has announced it change in its financial product policy in June, with the effect essentially equating to a ban on cryptocurrency-related advertising.
In a blog post published on March 13, the company said that is would no longer be serving ads relating to the following:
“Cryptocurrencies and related content (including but not limited to initial coin offerings, cryptocurrency exchanges, cryptocurrency wallets, and cryptocurrency trading advice)”
In January, we reported a similar move by Facebook, which said it would no longer allow ads promoting financial products and services related to ICOs or cryptocurrencies in general.
The new Google ban will apply to both the company’s proprietary and affiliated advertisement platforms.
Increased scrutiny
Neither Google or its parent company Alphabet Inc gave a reason for the implementation of the ban, but it does come at a time when the crypto space is coming under heavy scrutiny from regulators.
The director of the IMF, Christine Lagarde issued a fresh warning about cryptocurrencies on March 13, saying:
“The rapid growth of crypto-assets, the extreme volatility in their traded prices, and their ill-defined connections to the traditional financial world could easily create new vulnerabilities.”
The announcement had been preceded by reports that some users of Google’s AdWords service had seen a drop in the performance of their crypto-related campaigns. The company denied having made any changes at the time of the reports.
The company has also said that it plans to adjust the rules around other financial services such as spread betting and services in which sellers promise to provide compensation for an asset gain in value over a set period, commonly referred to as ‘contracts-for-difference’.
The BBC reports that the value of Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple all dipped slightly after the news emerged, but so far it does not seem to have a had a sizeable impact.
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