Google says no to ICO ads from June 2018

Google has released a policy update this week related to restricted financial products.

The update, first mentioned in Scott Spencer’s Google blog on Wednesday 14th March, says:

Cryptocurrencies and related content (including but not limited to initial coin offerings, cryptocurrency exchanges, cryptocurrency wallets, and cryptocurrency trading advice) will no longer be allowed to serve.

The news is huge for those in the growing cryptocurrency space. It has long been the case that the best marketing outlets for an ICO have centred around community, word of mouth, and ICO listing sites, but it can’t be denied that PPC – especially Google AdWords – was becoming a larger part of the process of a successful ICO.

Will this spark the beginning of the end of marketing ICOs? No, but it’s a development that the industry will have to deal with quickly.