In January 2018, Facebook announced a blanket ban on all advertising of cryptocurrencies and related products on its site. The timing of the move led some in the crypto community to point the finger at the social media giant for the subsequent collapse in the value of Bitcoin and the crypto markets as a whole. So today’s news that Facebook have decided to (at least partly) reverse the ban is likely to be warmly received and interpreted as more bullish news for the struggling markets.
Facebook’s stated reasoning for the decision was to protect consumers from products and services using “misleading or deceptive promotional practices.” The move was followed soon after by similar rulings from Google, Twitter, and others. Almost overnight, the presence of crypto marketing online on major media platforms dropped to all but zero.
Today’s news represents a welcome U-turn from the world’s most popular social media website. Crypto projects will, however, be required to seek specific approval for their advertisements on the platform, in a far more rigorous process than is applied to other types of product and service. Facebook spokesman Rob Leathern commented that interested parties must submit an application detailing any licenses held, information on any exchanges where the product is available, and any relevant background to projects. It seems that advertisements promoting initial coin offerings (ICOs) are still likely to be refused on the site.
Clearly Facebook have done just about as much as anyone to normalise the use of advertising in online media, and the more cynical amongst us might question the coherence of their taking such a principled and moralistic stance on the issue. Would it be churlish to refer to refer to reports that Facebook are themselves exploring the possibility of developing their own digital currency to facilitate payments on the site?
Regardless of motivations, today’s report would seem to represent more bullish news for crypto. Markets offered little in the way of reaction, however, with Bitcoin continuing to hover above $6000 and combined market cap remaining below $250 billion.
