Facebook Bans Cryptocurrency Related Ads

Facebook has banned all advertisements that promote Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and binary options trading from its platforms which also include the likes of Instagram, Audience Network and also Messenger.

There has been too much of hype surrounding these digital currencies like Bitcoin and Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) in recent months, and advertising on social networks was utilized to the maximum extent to gain attention and promote these schemes.

Facebook has come up a with a new policy that prohibits advertisements that promote financial products and services that are frequently associated with ‘misleading‘ or ‘deceptive‘ promotional practices.


“We want people to continue to discover and learn about new products and services through Facebook ads without fear of scams or deception. That said, there are many companies who are advertising binary options, ICOs and cryptocurrencies that are not currently operating in good faith,” said Rob Leathern in a statement, Product Management Director at Facebook.

“This policy is intentionally broad while we work to better detect deceptive and misleading advertising practices, and enforcement will begin to ramp up across our platforms including Facebook, Audience Network and Instagram. We will revisit this policy and how we enforce it as our signals improve,” said the statement.

“We also understand that we may not catch every ad that should be removed under this new policy, and encourage our community to report content that violates our Advertising Policies. People can report any ad on Facebook by clicking on the upper right-hand corner of the ad,” the statement added.


“This policy is part of an ongoing effort to improve the integrity and security of our ads, and to make it harder for scammers to profit from a presence on Facebook,” the statement concluded.

So, as per Facebook’s new policy, the following are some of the cases in which an ad is likely to be blocked on Facebook and across all its platforms:

  • “Start binary options trading now and receive a 10-risk free trades bonus!”
  • “Click here to learn more about our no-risk cryptocurrency that enables instant payments to anyone in the world.”
  • “New ICO! Buy tokens at a 15% discount NOW!”
  • “Use your retirement funds to buy Bitcoin!”

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About Phaneendra Varma 148 Articles
Fan of Cricket. Devotee of Sachin. Follower of the Cricket game since 2003 World Cup!