Google relaxes ban on cryptocurrency ads

Google is tweaking its ban on cryptocurrency-related advertisements it put in place earlier this year, planning to allow regulated cryptocurrency exchanges to buy ads in the US and Japan, the media reported.

Google in March announced a ban on advertisements for cryptocurrencies and other "speculative financial products" across its ad platforms. 

"The Internet giant's updated policy applies to advertisers all over the world and it will go into effect next month," CNBC reported on Tuesday. 

However, the ads can only run in the US and Japan, and interested parties will need to apply for certification to serve ads in each country individually, the report added.

"Google's parent company Alphabet gets roughly 86 per cent of its total revenue from advertising. The company booked more than $54 billion in ad revenue in the first half of 2018," said the report.

Facebook imposed a similar ban in January, but has subsequently lifted some restrictions.

After Facebook and Google, Microsoft also removed advertisements showing cryptocurrencies and related products from its Bing search engine.