After speculation earlier this month, Twitter has officially confirmed its decision to prohibit cryptocurrency-related advertisements. The ban encompasses initial coin offerings (ICOs), digital asset exchanges, and token sales.
According to a March 26 report by Reuters, Twitter Inc will begin banning cryptocurrency-related advertising starting Tuesday.
Twitter has confirmed the rumors, stating that the social media platform will follow Facebook and Google in restricting cryptocurrency-related advertisements.
Reuters was informed by Twitter that advertisements promoting Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and token sales would be restricted under its new policy. This policy, set to roll out over the next 30 days, will also prohibit ads from cryptocurrency exchanges and wallet services, except for those operated by publicly listed companies on major stock exchanges. In Japan, Twitter plans to restrict crypto exchange advertisements to those overseen by the national financial regulator.
Twitter Follows Facebook and Google in Banning Crypto Ads
Twitter cited user safety as the main reason for enforcing the ban. Although the platform had previously taken steps to prevent crypto-related accounts from engaging in misleading activities, it decided to take further action after Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc. (Google) introduced similar restrictions.
The announcement from Twitter drove crypto markets—already on a downward trend Monday—into a steeper decline.
In a conversation with Reuters, financial consultancy Kapronasia’s director, Zennon Kapron, highlighted that the potential risks posed to Twitter may have served as an additional reason for implementing the ban.
“With the surge in ICOs entering the market, determining which projects are legitimate and which are fraudulent has become nearly unmanageable — especially for platforms such as Twitter or Facebook. While it’s likely that advertising from ICOs generated substantial revenue for Twitter, the potential fallout from deceptive schemes has rendered that income not worth the associated risk,” explained Kapron.
In January of this year, Facebook imposed limitations on cryptocurrency advertisements, while Google declared a similar prohibition earlier this month, scheduled to take effect in June 2018.
