Despite being on the business end of a gun every now and then, cryptocurrencies are getting a respite in the form of Facebook allowing crypto ads after a ban.
Just earlier this year, the social network banned all ads related to the crypto universe, in a bid to prevent users from getting scammed by con artists.
As it happens, the network has changed its stance less than 4 months later and will eventually allow some ads to run on its servers. However, ICOs or initial coin offerings, as well as binary options, are still being banned by Facebook authorities.
Decentralization 101
The company now says that it was intentionally broad in its original interpretation of the ban. In a post related to the move, Mark Zuckerberg has called trends like cryptocurrencies as ones “that take power from centralized systems and put it back into people’s hands”
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Facebook will also allow only those advertisers to run ads which have already been pre-approved by the company. The ads will still be selected based on a lengthy application process where each request is verified by Facebook employees. Facebook will still continually revisit its policies on the subject.
Piling Losses
That news probably comes out of necessity, as $532 million have been lost in crypto-related scams in the first two months of this year alone, according to the FTC, with the figure for the entire year expected to rise as high as $3 billion.
However, Facebook’s move, which was followed by Google’s complete ban and Twitter & Snap’s revision of policies, could once again spell a change in attitudes towards cryptocurrency. It remains to be seen whether other major players follow suit.
