Google to allow certain cryptocurrency advertising next month

Google will resume accepting cryptocurrency-related online advertising after previously banning such ads earlier this year, according to a report from CNBC today. Lifting the ban will allow regulated crypto exchanges to purchase ads through Google’s platform in the US and Japan starting next month.

The original ban was announced in March, amid a wave of high-profile initial coin offerings (ICOs) and other crypto activity that made it difficult to distinguish between over-hyped or outright fraudulent ventures and legitimate ones. Google still plans to reject ads for ICOs, which are loosely regulated fundraising efforts, and ads for crypto wallets and trading advice, reports CNBC.

It’s unclear why Google is lifting its ban now, but it would appear that the company thinks the crypto hype over skyrocketing digital currency values and all of the negative side effects associated with that has died down. Facebook, which put in place the first large-scale crypto advertising ban back in January, lifted its ban on certain types of crypto-related ads in June. Similarly, Facebook is still banning ICOs and requires companies to fill out an application to run ads. So Google may be simply following suit in an effort to ensure it does not lose out on valuable ad dollars. The company was not immediately available for comment.

Update 9/25, 2:38PM ET: The headline has been updated to reflect the fact that Google is only permitting a subset of crypto-related ads, and not lifting its ban on ads for ICOs and other potentially fraudulent activity.