Twitter Inc will begin to ban cryptocurrency advertising from Tuesday, joining Facebook and Google in a crackdown that aims to avoid giving publicity to potential fraud or large investor losses, reported Reuters.
The prohibition will cover advertising of initial coin offerings (ICOs) – crowdfunding used to raise cash by creating new coins – as well as token sales, according to the report.
Reuters added that the new policy, which will be rolled out over the next 30 days, will also ban ads by cryptocurrency exchanges and cryptocurrency wallet services, unless they are public companies listed on certain major stock markets.
For Japan, these will be limited to crypto exchanges regulated by its national financial regulator, Twitter said.
The firm had said this month it was taking measures to prevent crypto-related accounts from “engaging with others in a deceptive manner”, but faced calls to go further after bans from Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google.
Facebook has restricted crypto-related adverts, while Google announced a ban that comes into force in June.
The price of bitcoin, already 4 percent in the red on Monday, fell further after the Twitter announcement. It traded at $7,920 BTC=BTSP on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange at 1740 GMT, down more than 6 percent on the day, said Reuters.
The news agency said that regulators have stepped up warnings that bitcoin and other virtual currencies are highly speculative and that some could be fraudulent, and that investors should be prepared to lose everything.
Bitcoin has lost more than half its value from a December peak of almost $20,000 as fears of a regulatory clampdown spooked investors. News of the Facebook and Google bans also hit the price.
