KEY POINTS YouTube deletes cryptocurrency-related content

Well-known crypto channels were affected by YouTube's latest move

Videos were taken down because of "harmful or dangerous content"

Without any heads up, YouTube has deleted cryptocurrency videos of not just YouTube nobodies but of some well-known crypto influencers in the video-sharing platform too.

It's a public fact that the Google-owned company has certain restrictions when it comes to the content uploaded to individual channels that, over the years, has become increasingly stringent. Content that is explicitly breaking advertiser-friendly guidelines is a big no-no.

Then there's the demonetization element too for uttering swear words on videos that left most content creators at sea until a guide that YouTube published this year offered more clarity.

But what's entirely out of the blue was the sudden restricting and deleting of videos containing crypto-related content.

Chris Dunn's eponymous YouTube channel, for example, has a good amount of following with over 210,000 subscribers. He doesn't upload purely crypto content, but on Monday, he noticed that YouTube removed all of his videos that mentioned cryptocurrencies.

Dunn took to Twitter his ire for YouTube's unanticipated move, "@YouTube just removed most of my crypto videos citing 'harmful or dangerous content' and 'sale of regulated goods'... it's been 10 years of making videos, 200k+ subs, and 7M+ views. WTF are you guys doing @TeamYouTube?!"

Node Investor, another popular channel with 54,000 subscribers, has a video taken down by the video-sharing giant. The market updates and technical analysis channel for cryptos posted YouTube's message on Twitter and said, "Merry Christmas to you also @YouTube. Apparently a video I posted two years ago on researching crypto's is now illegal...Rules are changing."

There is no clear reason why YouTube had undertaken steps to remove content related to cryptocurrencies. The crypto world is left to speculate whether it's only a security measure, some ad-related restriction, or just no love for all things crypto.

If it's for security, it is worth noting that YouTube had done something similar to channels that the Stantinko botnet affected -- but then again, that's not the reason why YouTube removed Dunn and Node Investor's videos.

In his frustration, Dunn echoed what Jack Dorsey is aiming for Twitter, which is a move to a blockchain platform. Dunn tweeted, "Thanks for the support and comments guys. The crypto community truly is awesome. I should've put my videos on decentralized platforms a long time ago, but lesson learned! This is a clear example of why we need to decentralize the web!"