Social media giants and super search engine Google have made a complete U-turn from their pronouncements months ago where they had slapped blanket bans on all advertisements related to crypto-currencies. Facebook’s change of heart was confirmed by Coinbase CEO, Brian Armstrong, who made up a mockup post on the social media platform, where he stated that they had now been whitelisted by the platform and would be proceeding to make big moves. This is a complete reversal from Facebook’s stance early this year where they were totally opposed to advertising anything crypto related. Brian Armstrong of Coinbase also welcomed more people to share in the open financial system that would be facilitated by the Coinbase platform.
Giant search engine Google seems to have followed in the footsteps of Facebook and loosened the tight leash that had been put in place to keep crypto related ads away from their platform. Social media users who also happen to be crypto enthusiasts began uploading Coinbase screenshots in Google Ads which promoted the idea that Google had also made an about turn. Twitter had placed a similar ban on crypto advertising which appeared ironic owing to the fact that Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey, spoke in glowing terms about crypto even when the ban was still in place. Earlier in the year online giants Facebook, Google and Twitter caused an uproar by slapping a ban on advertising of all crypto-currency businesses but it now looks that all those that were aggrieved are in for a big reprieve.
The advertising activities of Coinbase on social media platform Facebook have raised speculation that Facebook could be eyeing the acquisition of Coinbase. There is no official word on a merger as yet but Coinbase CEO Arm strong has hinted at several behind the scenes projects being undertaken by Coinbase on his twitter handle recently. Armstrong also gave his take on the slump in Bitcoin prices compared to the highs of 2017 by stating that Coinbase would spend this period focusing on improvements and expansion in preparation for the future market resurgence. The response to Google and Facebook’s about-turn on crypto advertising elicited a positive reaction and has led to an improvement of crypto’s reputation after months of lower lows, owing to investor’s nerves, and increased regulatory turbulence in a number of jurisdictions.
The news of the ad bans being lifted is perhaps a saving grace owing to the fact that the Bitcoin adoption rate had bottomed this year. The lifting of the bans by Facebook, Google and Twitter also interestingly coincide with a 15% percent growth of Bitcoin prices within a space of 5 days.
