In a policy statement published Wednesday, Google said that “beginning August 3, advertisers offering Cryptocurrency Exchanges and Wallets targeting the United States may advertise those products and services when they meet the following requirements and are certified by Google.”

The tech giant then went on to explain how advertisers may get accredited. They must first register with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) “as a Money Services Business and with at least one state as a money transmitter.” Alternatively, the advertisers can be “a federal or state chartered bank entity.”

Furthermore, Google noted that the advertisers must meet all relevant legal requirements, including state, local, and federal laws and they must also “Ensure their ads and landing pages comply with all Google Ads policies.” The company elaborated:

“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.”

In addition, advertisers will be required to request a new “Cryptocurrency Exchanges and Wallets certification” with Google through an application form that will be available beginning July 8. Prior cryptocurrency exchange certifications will be revoked on Aug. 3.

Meanwhile, Google clarified that some ads are not allowed. “ICO pre-sales or public offerings, cryptocurrency loans, initial DEX offerings, token liquidity pools, celebrity cryptocurrency endorsements, unhosted wallets, unregulated Dapps, cryptocurrency trading signals, cryptocurrency investment advice, aggregators or affiliate sites containing related content or broker reviews” are some examples of the ads that are not allowed.

Google further added that among prohibited ads are:

“Ads for initial coin offerings [ICO], Defi trading protocols, or otherwise promoting the purchase, sale, or trade of cryptocurrencies or related products. Ad destinations that aggregate or compare issuers of cryptocurrencies or related products.”

“As a reminder, we expect all advertisers to comply with the local laws for any area that their ads target. This policy will apply globally to all accounts that advertise these financial products,” Google concluded.

Google Previously Banned Crypto Ads

In March 2018, the search engine made headlines when it announced that crypto advertising will no longer be allowed on its search engine, after Facebook’s announcement earlier that year. However, in September 2018, Google softened its stance on crypto exchanges, allowing them to become approved advertisers on the site for the US and Japanese markets. Critics have long accused Google of failing to appropriately manage cryptocurrency-related ad fraud.

In April 2020, YouTube, a Google company, was sued for permitting the marketing of cryptocurrency scams. Meanwhile, Google has been chastised for prohibiting crypto advertisements while allowing fraud projects to promote their platforms without restriction.

It’s expected that the new policy will help reduce crypto scams and projects from using the tech giant’s platform.

Source: Google's New Policies Allow Crypto Wallet and Exchange Related Ads – Fintechs.fi