Google Cracks Down On Cryptocurrency, Forex Trading Ads

Alphabet Inc GOOG 0.92% GOOGL 0.86%'s Google said it plans on no longer allowing ads on its platform related to cryptocurrency and trading advice.

What Happened

Google said in a blog post it will be updating its Financial services policy to restrict multiple forms of advertising, including initial coin offerings, cryptocurrency exchanges, cryptocurrency wallets, cryptocurrency trading advice, and binary options strategy trading advice and synonymous products.

Google's move to crack down on cryptocurrency-related ads follows a similar action taken by Facebook Inc FB 0.6% earlier this year. While specific kinds of ads will be blocked, the social media company reaffirmed its platform remains a place for people to "continue to discover and learn about new products" but not subjecting its users to ads that are scams or deceptive.

Why It's Important

"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," Google's Director of Sustainable Ads Scott Spencer told CNBC.

What's Next

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency enthusiasts are unlikely to be unfazed by Google's latest move to block certain kinds of ads. Skeptics gained some mainstream support this week in the form of late night comedian John Oliver who used $15,000 Beanie Babies and Chicken McNuggets to explain the "brand-new, very complicated space" in which "literally nobody knows how it's going to develop."

The price of bitcoin sat between the $9,000 and $9,4000 area this week, but was sitting around the $8,700 level at time of publication. The price of Ethereum and Litecoin, among other cryptos, also fell following Google's announcement.