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Today, Google announced that it would no longer accept advertisements related to cryptocurrencies, including initial coin offerings (ICOs), wallets, and trading advice.
According to the company’s official announcement, the ban will go into effect in June 2018.
Google will not serve the following ads from June onwards
• Binary options and synonymous products
• Cryptocurrencies and related content (including but not limited to initial coin offerings, cryptocurrency exchanges, cryptocurrency wallets, and cryptocurrency trading advice)
Ads for aggregators and affiliates for the following will no longer be allowed to serve:
• Contracts for Difference
• Rolling spot forex
• Financial spread betting
• Binary options and synonymous products
• Cryptocurrencies and related content.
Advertisers offering Contracts for Difference, rolling spot forex, and financial spread betting will be required to be certified by Google before they can advertise through AdWords. Certification is only available in certain countries.
To be certified by Google, advertisers will need to:
• Be licensed by the relevant financial services authority in the country or countries they are targeting
• Ensure their ads and landing pages comply with all AdWords policies
• Comply with relevant legal requirements, including those related to complex speculative financial products
Advertisers can request certification with Google starting March 2018 when the application form is published.
Talking to CNBC, Google’s director of sustainable ads, Scott Spencer, told
“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 that it’s an area that we want to approach with extreme caution.”
Google’s decision follows a similar announcement made by Facebook in January 2018.
