Tech-giant Google said Tuesday, Sept 25 2018 that it has lifted its cryptocurrency ad ban to allow regulated exchanges to purchase ads in both the U.S. and Japan. In a press release, Alphabet, the parent company of Google said: “Advertisers will need to be certified with Google for the specific country in which their ads will serve. Advertisers will be able to apply for certification once the policy launches in October.”

The initial ban, which was announced in March, was targeted at products such as initial coin offerings, or ICOs, capital raising tool for crypto ventures, due to ongoing fraudulent activity involved in the unregulated markets. Google to allow certain cryptocurrency advertising next month – The company will partially lift its crypto ad ban in October.

It’s unclear why Google is lifting its ban now, but it would appear that the company thinks the crypto hype over skyrocketing digital currency values and all of the negative side effects associated with that has died down. Facebook, which put in place the first large-scale crypto advertising ban back in January, lifted its ban on certain types of crypto-related ads in June. Similarly, Facebook is still banning ICOs and requires companies to fill out an application to run ads. So Google may be simply following suit in an effort to ensure it does not lose out on valuable ad dollars.

Google lifts Crypto Ad Ban following Facebook lift in June 2018