Twitter may be the next platform to ban cryptocurrency-related ads, following the footsteps of Google and Facebook. According to Sky News , Twitter’s ad ban would go into effect in two weeks.
The microblogging platform will reportedly block ads from initial coin offerings (ICOs), cryptocurrency wallets, and exchanges. Notably the ban will have limited exceptions, potentially meaning verified, legitimate businesses will still be able to advertise their products and services.
The move is notable as Twitter is a popular platform in the cryptocurrency sphere. It may have been predictable, however, as earlier this month the company’s CEO Jack Dorsey revealed he was taking care of scammers who, as covered by CCN.com, are even hijacking verified accounts to trick users.
Twitter’s cryptocurrency ad ban may, as such, be part of its crackdown on scammers. Social media giant Facebook made a similar move earlier this year, banning cryptocurrency-related ads to protect its over 2.7 billion users. At the time, the company revealed the policy was intentionally broad as it attempted to “work to better detect deceptive and misleading advertising practices.”
Google is also set to ban online advertisements promoting cryptocurrency-related content in June 2018, as part of its newly updated financial services policy. It’s set to curb other financial products including contracts for difference (CFDs). When the ban was revealed, Google’s director of sustainable ads Scott Spencer explained the move was a precautionary measure. He said:
“We don’t have a crystal ball to know where the future is going to go with cryptocurrencies, but we’ve seen enough consumer harm or potential for consumer harm that it’s an area that we want to approach with extreme caution.’
Both Facebook and Google also banned binary options trading ads. As Sky News notes, these bans follow the release of figures from Action Fraud, that showed victims’ losses in Britain surged by 400,000% in six years.
These platforms banned cryptocurrencies at a time in which the market has been enduring a bearish period. Bitcoin, the flagship cryptocurrency, has fallen from a mid-December all-time high of over $19,000 to a $5,900 low in February. At press time, bitcoin is trading at $8,339, according to CCN.com’s price index.
Further pushing the market down is the seemingly endless bubble talk. As recently covered, Visa’s chief financial officer (CFO), Vasant Prabhu, argued that we know the market is in a bubble as unsophisticated investors are investing in it and have “no idea what they are doing.”
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