According to a recent update in Google’s financial services policy, Google will ban all cryptocurrency related advertising across its entire network of ad products, including third-party sites. The policy specifically lists initial coin offerings (ICOs), crypto wallets, exchanges and services which offer crypto trading advice.
Google states that it took down 3.2 billion ads which violated its policies in 2017, up from the 1.7 billion bad ads removed in 2016.
The ban follows a similar action taken by Facebook in January, who cited “deceptive promotional practices” as the reasoning behind the decision.
“We don’t have a crystal ball to know where the future is going to go with cryptocurrencies, but we’ve seen enough consumer harm or potential for consumer harm,” stated Scott Spencer, Google’s director of sustainable ads.
Chris Keshian, CEO of $APEX Token Fund, views this as positive development for cryptocurrencies, stating:
“We see Google’s actions as progressive – as long as they continue to keep an open mind and don’t tar all cryptocurrencies with the same brush. Crackdowns on cryptocurrencies are the best way to weed out irresponsible and fraudulent ICOs and place greater focus on cases against unregistered persons acting as agents, brokers, and investment professionals in the cryptocurrency space. This is a key step in cryptocurrencies becoming a mature and stable asset class.”
What the future holds is anyones guess, but there is no lack of opinions on either side of the crypto debate. And its not going away anytime soon, ads or no ads.
Boyan Josic is the Founder & CEO of MarketMakers.io and Mogul.Capital. MarketMakers is a leading provider of ICO related products and services. Mogul.Capital is a cryptocurrency investment fund, with a focus on early-stage, tokenized opportunities.