Google will ban any ads related to cryptocurrency or initial coin offerings (ICOs), starting in June, the company announced in an updated version of its Ads Policy document.
According to the document, ads related to cryptocurrencies and related content (including initial coin offerings, crypto transactions, encryption wallets, and crypto transaction contracts) will no longer be allowed on Google's AdWords platform.
Google also announced the ban on ads for binary options, forex, and financial spread spread.
It appears that the company has quietly started limiting ads related to cryptocurrencies since last week, as some advertisers see significant performance drops for ads related to the ICO.
The company's decision follows a similar pattern to Facebook, which banned cryptocurrency ads on its site in January. The reasoning was that these ads “are often associated with misleading promotional practices”. And Twitter also said it would take measures to combat spam related to cryptocurrencies or crypto transactions.
On Wednesday, Google published its annual report regarding “bad ads” – ads that violate the company's policies. In it, the company states that it has validated its policies to address emerging threats and classifies crypto transactions as “unregulated or speculative financial products”.
The most popular crypto transactions remained largely indifferent to the news. Bitcoin is trading this period at 9,162 dollars, noting a drop of 1,09% in the last 24 hours, while Ethereum is trading at 691 dollars, i.e., a drop of 1,57% over the same period, according to CoinMarketCap.
