PremiumNEW DELHI: Search giant Google has announced a slight change to its policy around cryptocurrency advertising. The company had banned ads from crypto companies in 2018, but later changed its stance to include crypto exchanges. Now, it will also allow cryptocurrency wallets to advertise on its network, as long as they comply with certain rules and regulations.
According to a blog post by the company, the new rules apply only to wallets in the United States (US), though they will apply to advertisements globally. The company told Bloomberg that the change has been made to match new regulations from the United States (US) Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The rules will come into effect from August 3 and will require crypto wallets to be registered with the FinCEN and federal or state chartered banks.
“All prior Cryptocurrency Exchange certifications will be revoked on August 3, 2021. Advertisers must request new Cryptocurrency Exchanges and Wallets certification with Google when the application form is published on July 8, 2021," the company said in its post.
The change to Google’s stance might come as a shot in the arm for the crypto community, which has been facing regulatory uncertainties worldwide. Being allowed on the Google ad network will allow them to reach a wider number of users, while the US FinCEN’s regulations lend a bit of credibility to these platforms that they may not have had earlier.
That said, the new policy may not affect the Indian crypto community as much. Crypto wallets like Unocoin might be able to take advantage if they get the proper certifications and registrations, but the larger community in India, which makes apps around crypto assets, will not be able to advertise.
The Search giant said it will not allow ads about initial coin offerings (ICOs), decentralized finance (DeFi) trading protocols and more. It will also not allow ads that promote the purchase, sale, or trade of cryptocurrencies and related products. DeFi protocols have been big amongst the Indian crypto community, with Polygon being one of the big recent successes.
