Twitter has started clamping down on cryptocurrencies, and will start rolling out its ban on Bitcoin ads over the next 30 days.
Included in the ban, which comes into effect from today, are ads for initial coin offerings and token sales, the micro-blogging site told Reuters.
The company has confirmed that ads for cryptocurrency exchanges and cryptocurrency wallet services are also banned, unless they happen to be for public companies that are “listed on certain major stock markets”.
In Japan, things will be slightly different, with ads for cryptocurrency exchanges that are held in check by the country’s financial regulator allowed to stay.
When Facebook took similar action on January 30, Bitcoin’s price plummeted, falling by around $3500 over the next seven days.
Similarly, when Google revealed its own cryptocurrency ad-blocking plans on March 14, Bitcoin lost around $1500 of its value in around a day.
Sure enough, Twitter’s announcement has coincided with another Bitcoin price drop, though this one has been pretty minor in comparison.
The digital token is worth $7950 (~£5625) at the time of publication. Ahead of the announcement it had been worth well over $8000. That said, Bitcoin’s price is unpredictable at the best of times, and its value has fallen heavily since the turn of the year.
The tech giants’ measures are designed to help protect from crypto-toting scammers, who have been trying to lure victims into dodgy get-rich-quick schemes. Some have even resorted to posing as celebrities to swindle people out of their money.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
