Google, Facebook and now Twitter are banning cryptocurrency advertisements from their sites. Twitter most recently announced that they would be rolling out a new policy that prohibits advertisements for initial coin offerings (ICOs), cryptocurrency wallets and token sales with exchanges not entirely being off the list yet.
Google, announced on Wednesday that they would be banning adverts relating to cryptocurrencies, trading pairs, ICOs, exchanges etc. and Facebook, who are following suit, are doing so in respect to users of their platforms, concerned that there are far too many illegitimate and deceptive ads that are a threat to users.
The scamming side of the ICO world has had its fair share of controversies and as all this bubbling new technology attempts to break into the mainstream, it finds itself wrapped tighter in red tape. Governments, institutions and the world wide web are beginning to take to cryptocurrencies with a heightened sense of scrutiny and, well, perhaps it’s not the worst thing in the world.
Meeting Compliant Standards
Regulation is the big word on the agenda; most ICOs aren’t regulated around the world and therefore aren’t subject to the same standards that regulated companies do. Far too many scam ICO funding rounds, binary trading options and the like have managed to fall through the cracks and so governments are almost forced to crack down.
But again, this isn’t a terrible problem. We can all agree that the blockchain industry could benefit from universal acceptance, one where blockchain companies provide the most basic level of trust we’d expect to have with any service or product in the modern world.
At the recent G20 Summit, cryptocurrency was up for discussion and there is a notable takeaway to consider. Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, stated in a letter that:
“The FSB’s initial assessment is that crypto-assets do not pose risks to global financial stability at this time… the market continues to evolve rapidly, however, and this initial assessment could change if crypto-assets were to become significantly more widely used or interconnected with the core of the regulated financial system.”
In a speech on 2 March, Carney also stated:
“Whatever the merits of cryptocurrencies as money, authorities should be careful not to stifle innovations which could in the future improve financial stability; support more innovative, efficient and reliable payment services as well as have wider applications.”
While the present infantile stage of Blockchain technologies is stifled somewhat by its ‘Wild West’ reputation, the discussion of regulation is finally on the table and is a telling moment. Facebook, Google and Twitter will change their tunes when cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies begin to prove themselves to be compatible with laws and regulations. Let’s begin to look at regulation as a means to be a welcomed part of the world, consider it a necessary evil if you are so cynically inclined.
But whatever your inclination, the industry is bursting into brilliance. For that to be hindered by such matters would be regrettable for all, especially considering there is a solution to the issue.
