Facebook has announced a loosening of restrictions for cryptocurrency ads as rumors escalate about the social media platform creating its own digital asset.

Cryptocurrency-related ads, such as for ICOs and exchanges, were once commonplace on Facebook, but the social media giant banned them outright in January 2018.

The ban was implemented due to concerns of people falling victim to fraudulent schemes.

However, the platform eased up a bit in June 2018 by allowing ads that were pre-approved, although ads for ICOs and binary options were still banned.

Now Facebook is loosening the restrictions on cryptocurrency-related advertisements even further.

Rolling back the crypto ad ban

In an announcement posted today, Facebook stated that it has “listened to feedback and assessed the [previous] policy’s effectiveness.”

As such, the social media juggernaut will no longer require prior approval for ads relating to blockchain technology, industry news, education, or events related to cryptocurrency.

This change in policy has no impact on ads relating to items like cryptocurrency exchanges, mining software, mining hardware, and other services as they still require an application to be filled out for approval prior to being posted.

ICOs and binary options are still banned from Facebook advertising, and the platform is adding contracts for difference (CFDs) to the banned list on June 5th.

Reaction on social media has been mixed.

Some people are happy with the updated policy, such as Twitter user @CryptoAlibi, who writes, “Back to square one – Facebook being nice again : ) Facebook rolls back it’s policy barring cryptocurrency ads.”

Back to square one – Facebook being nice again : ) Facebook rolls back it's policy barring cryptocurrency ads 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 — CryptoAlibi (@CryptoAlibi) May 8, 2019

The other side of the virtual coin

However, some people are pointing out that this policy shift coincides with increasing discussion of Facebook working on its own cryptocurrency.

“But Facebook is ready to launch a stablecoin, so obviously they have to lift their arbitrary crypto ads ban lol,” says Twitter user @mdudas.

Outlets such as Bloomberg are reporting that Facebook is beefing up the staff of its blockchain project, based in London, with the end result of the platform possibly announcing its own cryptocurrency as early as next quarter.

The new Facebook cryptocurrency will reportedly be a stablecoin that will be connected to the U.S. dollar or a collective of currencies, according to insiders.

The blockchain project is being spearheaded by David Marcus, the former president of PayPal, and it is estimated that 20% of the project’s staff come from PayPal.

Facebook insiders say the new stablecoin will be tested in India via the company’s WhatsApp platform.

WhatsApp already allows payment transfers to be made (although not in crypto) and boasts more than 200 million users in India.