Google To Ease Restriction on Crypto Ads in Japan and the United States

Google has announced that regulated cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan and in the United States will be allowed to advertise on its platform beginning this October. This means a lifting of some of the restrictions the company placed on crypto ads back in June of this year.

Posting a notice on the changes relating to crypto advertisements recently, the company said “The Google ads policy on financial products and services will be updated in October 2018 to allow regulated cryptocurrency exchanges to advertise in the United States and Japan… Advertisers will need to be certified with Google for the specific country in which their ads will serve.”  The firm takes into consideration “financial products and services to be those related to the management or investment of money and cryptocurrencies, including personalized advice.”

Google further said that “Advertisers will be able to apply for certification once the policy launches in October,” adding that “This policy will apply globally to all accounts that advertise these financial products.”

Back in May, Google announced restrictions on ads relating to “Cryptocurrencies and related content (including but not limited to initial coin offerings, cryptocurrency exchanges, cryptocurrency wallets, and cryptocurrency trading advice).” The policy was implemented fully beginning June 2018.

The American Financial news channel CNBC reports that Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc.., gets about 86 percent of its total revenue from advertising. The firm reportedly earned more than $54 billion in advertisement revenue in the first quarter of this year.

Google has however announced that some financial products are still restricted “Due to the inherent complexities and risks involved” in their trading. The firm also noted that the information will be updated once the new policy goes into effect.

At the moment, restricted products include “Ads for cryptocurrencies and related content” and “Ad destinations that aggregate or compare issuer of cryptocurrencies or related products.” For example, “Ads for initial coin offerings, ads promoting the purchase or sale of cryptocurrency, cryptocurrency wallets, and cryptocurrency trading advice” are prohibited, the company noted. Moreover, ads about “Cryptocurrency trading signals or investment advice; aggregators or affiliate sites containing related content or broker reviews” are also prohibited.

Google’s restrictions on crypto adverts came after Facebook’s ban of all such ads on its platform at the beginning of the year.

Twitter also lists “Cryptocurrency ICOs” and “Cryptocurrency token sales” under “financial services and related content” that it allows “with restrictions.”