Google running crypto ads again as new policy goes into effect

Published at: Aug. 4, 2021

Google is running crypto ads again after its updated financial products and services policy went into full effect on Aug. 3.

The multinational giant banned crypto- and initial coin offering-related advertisements back in June 2018, and the updated policy allows regulated crypto entities to market their services once again. ICOs have been left out in the cold, however.

Google’s crypto ad policy revision was first outlined in June and stipulates that “advertisers offering cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets” targeting United States consumers are allowed to advertise their services and products if they meet specific requirements.

The move will provide additional sales for Google’s parent company, Alphabet, although crypto ads will likely be just a drop in the ocean of the company’s $147 billion in advertising revenue.

Google’s strict requirements are designed to weed out shady advertising and blatant crypto scams. Advertisers must be registered with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network as a “money services business and with at least one state as a money transmitter, or a federal or state-chartered bank entity.”

The firm will not allow ads for ICOs, decentralized finance trading protocols, or the promotion of purchasing, selling or trading cryptocurrencies. Celebrity crypto endorsements are also banned, which may help in part with issues surrounding fake celebrity endorsements.

Related: Coinbase sued over Dogecoin sweepstake ad campaign

Google’s updated policy also bars crypto ads from linking to websites that host “cryptocurrency trading signals, cryptocurrency investment advice, aggregators or affiliate sites containing related content or broker reviews.”

Last month, TikTok announced that crypto-based promotional content had been banned as part of a move to stop all financial services and products from being advertised on the platform.

Redditors in the r/Bitcoin subreddit saw the news that Bitcoin (BTC) can once again be promoted via Google as a “bullish” sign for the cryptocurrency, although user u/Brief-Music-5825 asserted that Google should “ban fake crypto news as well. The amount of fake news creating FUD is unbelievable.”

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