Google to relax crypto ad ban

The Google Ads policy on financial products and services will be updated in October 2018 to allow regulated cryptocurrency exchanges to advertise in the United States and Japan.

Advertisers will need to be certified with Google for the specific country in which their ads will serve. Applications for certification can commence once the policy launches in October. This policy will apply globally to all accounts that advertise these financial products.

When the initial ban was announced back in March Bitcoin tested a monthly low at the $8,000 level and dipped as low as $7,920. Hopes are high that the Google decision will contribute to a sentiment turnaround for crypto in the final quarter of 2018.

The initial ban was very broad in its targeting, defining "cryptocurrency content" (but not exclusively) as "initial coin offerings, cryptocurrency exchanges, cryptocurrency wallets, and cryptocurrency trading advice."

The policy update only applies to the exchanges part of that list — and more specifically, only "regulated" exchanges. It is unclear exactly how Google defines a "regulated" exchange but it is reasonable to assume it includes entities which have been granted a BitLicense by the New York State Department of Financial Services (for example Coinbase, Circle and Genesis), or exchanges approved by Japan’s Financial Services Agency.