The cryptocurrency industry has gained tremendous credibility and legitimacy in recent times. Google is all set to allow advertisements related to cryptocurrency wallets and exchanges. The search engine giant has reversed its ban on cryptocurrency-related business and services that it had imposed in 2018.
The official press release by Google stated that from the 3rd of August 2021, advertisers of the industry targeting the United States may advertise those products and services if they meet certain requirements and are certified by the platform.
Google closes door to certain institutions while giving green signal to a few.
It outlined that the advertisers need to be duly registered at Financial Crimes Enforcement Network [FinCEN] as a Money Services Business and with at least one state as a money transmitter, or a federal or state-chartered bank entity.
In addition, the advertisers should also comply with relevant legal requirements, which encompasses any local legal conditions, whether at a state or federal level. These entities will also have their ads and landing pages follow all Google Ads policies.
Google also notified that all previous crypto exchange certifications will be revoked on the 3rd of August this year. This would mean that the advertisers must apply for new ‘Cryptocurrency Exchanges and Wallets’ certification with the company. The application form for the same will be published on the 8th of July 8, 2021.
However, the company prohibited ads for initial coin offerings [ICO], decentralized finance [DeFi] trading protocols, or any kind of promotion related to buying, selling, or trading of cryptocurrencies or related products.
Some of the examples include ICO pre-sales or public offerings, crypto-asset loans, initial DEX offerings, token liquidity pools, celebrity crypto promotions, and endorsements, unhosted wallets, “unregulated” decentralized applications [DApps].
Ad destinations that aggregate or compare issuers of cryptocurrencies or related products are also banned from posting on Google. These include trading signals of cryptocurrency, investment advice, aggregators, or affiliate websites comprising of associated content or broker reviews.