Facebook reverses its policy barring cryptocurrency ads

Startups • May 8, 2019, 3:40PM EDT

As Facebook continues to ramp up its crypto efforts, the social media giant is rolling back its 2018 banishment of cryptocurrency-related ads from its platform.

In a blog post Wednesday, Facebook said after listening to feedback and assessing the policy's effectiveness the company will "no longer require pre-approval for ads related to blockchain technology, industry news, education or events related to cryptocurrency." Users are still required to get pre-approval for ads promoting cryptocurrencies, however.

In Jan. 2018, Facebook initiated a complete ban on cryptocurrency and blockchain ads, slightly loosening the ban to allow pre-approved ads a few months later.

As The Block previously reported, Facebook's blockchain project is internally called Project Libra and will involve a stablecoin backed by government currency. The firm acquired the trademark Libra from an unknown tax company in April 2019.

About Author

Steven Zheng is a researcher for The Block. He joined The Block in August 2018. Steven graduated from St. John’s University with a degree in economics. Previously, he covered blockchain and crypto at Radicle, a startup analytics firm. He also had brief stints at Cheddar, a media startup, and Bowery Capital, a venture capital firm. He owns bitcoin. Follow Steven on Twitter at: @Dogetoshi