On Sept. 25, Google announced it would be updating its financial products and services policy to allow advertisements from regulated cryptocurrency exchanges from the United States and Japan starting in October.

Bakkt announces physical BTC futures against USD, GBP, and EUR. Google will reverse its crypto ad ban in Oct. Financial giants and crypto startups to meet with US lawmakers over regulatory landscape today. India Supreme Court to discuss RBIs crypto ban today. — XRPcryptowolf (@XRPcryptowolf) September 25, 2018

Specifically, Google said in the update that it would allow regulated cryptocurrency exchanges to purchase ads on its platform once the new policy is effective next month. Advertisements for ICOs, wallets, and trading advice still won’t be allowed.

An ad crackdown in the social media space

As most cryptocurrency exchanges remain unregulated, the average consumer has been slow to invest in anything crypto-related.

According to CNBC, security worries led platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat as well as Google to ban crypto-related ads in an effort to reign in bad actors.

Google’s Scott Spencer said in an interview regarding Google’s original ban said:

“We don’t have a crystal ball to know where the future is going to go with cryptocurrencies, but we’ve seen enough consumer harm or potential for consumer harm that it’s an area that we want to approach with extreme caution.’

Facebook began allowing limited cryptocurrency ads in June, and now Google appears to be following suit by allowing a narrow margin of businesses to buy ad space. The company does, however, still prohibit the sale of apps that use devices to mine cryptocurrency in the Play Store.

New rules

Google said in its update that advertisers will need to apply for certification to run ads in whatever country it is that their ads will serve, and can do so starting in October following the policy change.

Currently only regulated exchanges in the United States and Japan will be able to purchase ads through Google, but under the new policy will be able to buy ads in any country in the world.

The policy falls under Google’s restricted financial products section and appears to be governed by its rules regarding certification, which state:

“Advertisers who promote restricted financial products (Contracts for Difference, rolling spot forex, financial spread betting, and synonymous products) are allowed to advertise through Google Ads, but they must be certified by Google, and their products, landing pages, and ads must meet all local legal requirements of the country they want to get certified for.”

Google will update its financial products and services page once more once the policy becomes active.

An opportunity for regulated exchanges

Companies like Bakkt appear ready and waiting to fill the need for more closely regulated cryptocurrency exchanges, and the company announced this month how it plans to tackle the problem of regulating what has been for so long an unregulated space in a blog post entitled “What Bakkt Aims to Solve as a First Step.”

Bakkt aims to create a global, regulated cryptocurrency ecosystem using the existing financial framework people currently trade futures on. Exchanges would be held to the same regulatory standards, giving the crypto market a much-needed boost in security and consumer faith.

Tech giants like Google and Facebook loosening the reigns only for regulated exchanges could move things closer to Bakkt’s goal of a regulated market.