Google to Ban Ads for Cryptocurrencies

Google will ban all cryptocurrency-related advertising, including ICOs, wallets, and trading advice across all of its ad platforms, starting June 2018  

In June 2018, Google will update the Financial Services Policy to restrict the advertisement of Contracts for Difference, rolling spot forex and financial-spread betting. In addition, ads for the following will no longer be allowed to serve:

• Binary options and synonymous products
• Cryptocurrencies and related content (including but not limited to initial coin offerings, cryptocurrency exchanges, cryptocurrency wallets and cryptocurrency trading advice)

Ads for aggregators and affiliates for the following will no longer be allowed to serve:

• Contracts for Difference
• Rolling spot forex
• Financial-spread betting
• Binary options and synonymous products
• Cryptocurrencies and related content.

Advertisers offering Contracts for Difference, rolling spot forex and financial-spread betting will be required to be certified by Google before they can advertise through AdWords. Certification is only available in certain countries.

To be certified by Google, advertisers will need to:

• Be licensed by the relevant financial services authority in the country or countries they are targeting
• Ensure their ads and landing pages comply with all AdWords policies
• Comply with relevant legal requirements, including those related to complex speculative financial products

Advertisers can request certification with Google starting March 2018 when the application form is published.

This policy will apply globally to all accounts that advertise these financial products. For more details, see About restricted financial products certification.

Source: Google