Facebook just walked back its broad ban on cryptocurrency ads

Earlier this year, both Facebook and Google announced they were going to crack down on scammy ads, which meant banning ads relating to cryptocurrencies. Facebook, specifically, was very broad in its wording, saying it would ban any ads that promoted “financial products and services that are frequently associated with misleading or deceptive promotional practices, such as binary options, initial coin offerings, and cryptocurrency.”

A few months later, something interesting happened. Facebook announced it was forming a new team headed by David Marcus, which would be dedicated to the blockchain. It seemed like an interesting choice to first ban any crypto-related ads and then build a team looking into the very infrastructure these coins are based upon.

And what do you know? Today Facebook announced it was walking back its policy.

“In the last few months, we’ve looked at the best way to refine this policy — to allow some ads while we also working to ensure that they’re safe,” writes Rob Leathern, Facebook’s product management director.

For now, Facebook is asking cryptocurrency advertisers to submit an application in order to be considered. The company will assess their background information and decide whether to approve their ads. Of course, Facebook is still giving itself the power to say no to any crypto ad it wants to. But, as the social network looks into the blockchain, it will allow others using the technology to advertise, too.

You can read the full announcement here.