Google to partially lift ban on advertising of cryptocurrency-related business

SAN FRANCISCO - Google has revised an earlier financial products and services policy to allow regulated cryptocurrency exchanges to advertise in the United States and Japan starting next month.

In an update to its policy released Tuesday, Google will require advertisers to get certified with it for the specific country in which their ads will serve. After the new policy goes into effect in October, the advertisers will be able to apply for certification for cryptocurrency-related products and services

"This policy will apply globally to all accounts that advertise these financial products," Google said.

Google announced a sweeping ban in March on online cryptocurrency ads that was aimed at protecting its users from potential fraudulent scams. The restrictions were enforced in June.

Google was following other major US tech firms that introduced extensive restrictions on online advertising of cryptocurrency and related products.

Facebook put in place the first large-scale crypto advertising ban in January, but it also ended the restrictions on certain types of crypto-related ads in June.