Google updates advertising policy for digital currency firms

Google has updated its advertising policy for cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets, in the latest revision to the scope of its rules around advertising for the sector.

In a statement, Google said the new rules meant that “[b]eginning August 3, advertisers offering Cryptocurrency Exchanges and Wallets targeting the United States may advertise those products and services when they meet the following requirements and are certified by Google.”

To meet the threshold to be permitted for advertising, digital currency firms are required to “[b]e duly registered with (a) FinCEN as a Money Services Business and with at least one state as a money transmitter; or (b) a federal or state chartered bank entity…[c]omply with relevant legal requirements, including any local legal requirements, whether at a state or federal level…[and] [e]nsure their ads and landing pages comply with all Google Ads policies.”

The revisions are the first overhaul to the rules since late 2018, when it loosened restrictions around advertising from previously stricter measures.

At the outset of 2018, the search giant banned all digital currency advertising, following the likes of Facebook in clamping down on digital currency ads. The policy was reviewed in September 2018, which allowed for firms to become certified advertisers in some instances for the US and Japanese markets.

Nevertheless, Google has faced a backlash for its lack of control over cryptocurrency ad scams, many of which have proliferated online thanks to exposure from Google-served ads.

The new rules will still prohibit the advertising of “initial coin offerings, DeFi trading protocols, or otherwise promoting the purchase, sale, or trade of cryptocurrencies or related products.”

Examples given in the rules include “initial DEX offerings, token liquidity pools, celebrity cryptocurrency endorsements, unhosted wallets, unregulated DApps.”

“As a reminder, we expect all advertisers to comply with the local laws for any area that their ads target. This policy will apply globally to all accounts that advertise these financial products.”