Don’t be surprised, Twitter begins cryptocurrency ad ban

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The rumors were true after all: Twitter has started banning cryptocurrency-related advertisements on its platform, too.

On Tuesday, the app became the latest social media network to clamp down on advertisements that promote potential fraud or cause large investor losses in the long run, Reuters reported. The new policy will cover ads on initial coin offerings (ICOs) and token sales, as well as promotions made by cryptocurrency exchanges and wallet providers who are not listed on major stock markets.

In Japan, advertisements made by cryptocurrency exchanges that are not recognized by the Financial Services Agency (FSA) will be banned on Twitter, the San Francisco company told Reuters.

A Twitter spokesperson confirmed to CNBC that “the advertisement of initial coin offerings (ICOs) and token sales will be prohibited globally” under the new policy.

Reports that Twitter is banning cryptocurrency-related advertisements surfaced last week, following in the footsteps of social media giant Facebook and tech giant Google. Early this month, Twitter said it has started implementing measures to prevent cryptocurrency accounts from “engaging with others in a deceptive manner.”

Facebook announced several weeks ago that it would ban all cryptocurrency advertising in order to restrict the number of misleading promotions, especially ICO-related advertisements. Google also confirmed that it would start banning all advertising for cryptocurrencies on its sites, including YouTube, starting June.

Also joining the crackdown on ICO promotions is Snapchat, which announced last week that it has forbidden all ICO-related ads      on the social media app. Snapchat’s parent company, Snap Inc., has been restricting advertisements that promote cryptocurrency token sales since February, although the ban doesn’t apply to other types of cryptocurrency ads.

In an interview with Reuters, Zennon Kapron, director of financial consultancy Kapronasia, said it’s now “an impossible task for anyone… to keep on top of which ICOs and cryptocurrencies are genuine versus frauds.”