Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are unregulated and many adverts promoting Bitcoin are misleading or scams. Google's ban will cover Google's Ad Words advertising products and YouTube, blocking adverts on cryptocurrencies including so-called initial coin offerings (ICOs).
Adverts promoting cryptocurrency and ICOs, which see people buying volatile tokens in the hope they will go up in value, have spread following the surge in interest in Bitcoin in 2017.
Many adverts appear to be scams, offering get-rich-quick schemes or encouraging people to invest in risky and unregulated ICOs, many of which have failed or even vanished with investor money. The price of Bitcoin fell around $400 this morning to $8,895, according to CoinDesk.
From June, advertisers will be blocked from posting adverts on several other controversial financial products. "This year, we updated several policies to address ads in unregulated or speculative financial products," said Google director sustainable ads Scott Spencer.
While cryptocurrency advertising will be totally blocked, adverts on speculative products such as binary options, foreign exchange markets and contracts for difference will only be available to certain certified advertisers, according to the new Google AdWords policy. Affiliate adverts, which take a cut for referring new customers to these products, will be totally banned.
The move follows a similar ban by Facebook in January. Facebook said at the time most cryptocurrency advertisers were not "operating in good faith".
Google's ban would affect adverts on YouTube, which has become a haven of cryptocurrency news and advice. "
source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2018/03/14/google-ban-adverts-cryptocurrency-icos/