Facebook parent expands advertising options for cryptocurrency

Facebook parent, Meta Platforms Inc. is making it easier to run advertisements promoting cryptocurrencies.

Facebook says the step has been taken as the cryptocurrency regulatory landscape has matured,  (REUTERS)

Facebook parent, Meta Platforms Inc., is making it easier to run advertisements promoting cryptocurrencies as the regulatory landscape for the digital coins has matured. The parent company of Facebook said Wednesday it would expand the number of acceptable government licenses to 27 from three. Previously, marketers who wanted to promote cryptocurrency had to submit an application including any licenses they have obtained and whether they are traded on a public stock exchange, among other information. Now, the company will make that determination based on its list of eligible regulatory licenses. 

“This change will help make our policy more equitable and transparent and allow for a greater number of advertisers, including small businesses, to use our tools and grow their business,” Facebook said in a blog post.

Read full blog below:

Expanding Eligibility to Run Ads About Cryptocurrency

* We're making it easier to run ads about cryptocurrency on our platform by expanding the number of regulatory licenses we accept.

*We're doing this because the cryptocurrency landscape has continued to mature and stabilize in recent years and has seen more government regulations that are setting clearer rules for their industry.

*These changes will help to make our policy in this space more equitable and transparent and help more advertisers, including small businesses, grow their audiences and reach more potential customers.

*Starting today, we're updating our eligibility criteria for running ads about cryptocurrency on our platform by expanding the number of regulatory licenses we accept from three to 27. We are also making the list of eligible licenses publicly available on our policy page.

Previously, advertisers could submit an application and include information such as any licenses they obtained, whether they are traded on a public stock exchange, and other relevant public background on their business. However, over the years the cryptocurrency landscape has matured and stabilized and experienced an increase in government regulation, which has helped to set clearer responsibilities and expectations for the industry. Going forward, we will be moving away from using a variety of signals to confirm eligibility and instead requiring one of these 27 licenses.

This change will help make our policy more equitable and transparent and allow for a greater number of advertisers, including small businesses, to use our tools and grow their business.

Advertisers who were previously approved will not be impacted by this change. The list of products and services that require pre-approval also won't change. We continue to require prior written permission based on the criteria for:

Platforms, software apps or products known as cryptocurrency exchanges and trading platforms. Examples include but are not limited to spot trading, margin trading, futures trading or other trading instruments that involve cryptocurrency assets.

Platforms, software apps or products that offer cryptocurrency lending and borrowing.

Cryptocurrency wallets that also allow people to buy, sell, swap or stake their cryptocurrency tokens.

Hardware and software for cryptocurrency mining.

Cryptocurrency continues to be an evolving space and we may refine these rules over time as the industry changes. This includes adding eligible licenses to the list as they become available and after we have reviewed them.

We continue to enforce our policies and remove misleading and harmful ads that break our rules. People should report content that violates our Advertising Policies by selecting “report ad” in the upper right-hand corner of any advertisement, which will help us improve our enforcement and better understand feedback from people who rely on our platform every day.