Google Lifts Ban on Crypto Ads in the US and Japan

The technology giant will allow regulated exchange platforms to be advertised in the US and Japan as of the beginning of October.

Google applied the restrictions in March, aiming to provide maximum protection to its clients and users from crypto frauds. The ban included the advertisement of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), which were categorized within the unauthorized ads group.

The bloom of cryptocurrencies development has spread to almost every industry. Alongside the positives, this also raises the possibility of crypto scams. Earlier this year, not only Google but Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat also took part in the initiative and stopped cryptocurrency advertising.

The lift of the ban comes with a set of requirements for advertisers. The Adwords platform will only permit licensed exchanges to advertise. With the launch of the new policy in October, exchanges would have to apply for their Google certificate.

Some industry professionals share the opinion that the ban was unjustified and very limiting. Shortly before Google's announcement, Facebook also lifted the ban, but it is still in full force for Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).

Scott Spencer, the Director of Product Management at Google, added that the future is unclear but the company has seen enough harm in the cryptocurrency industry and they want to proceed with caution.

The new policy will be accessible to advertisers anywhere in the world, but ads will be visible only to residents in the United States and Japan.

Alphabet Inc., Google‘s parent company, owns around 86 percent of the advertising revenue. In 2018 it booked $54 billion only in ad revenue.

In June, Jimmy Wales - the founder of Wikipedia, commented on cryptocurrency regulations saying that blockchains cannot be banned. And a month later in July, Sergey Brin, the co-founder of the tech giant, shared with the public that he is an Ethereum miner and supports cryptocurrencies.