According to the anecdotal reports of several companies operating in the initial coin offering (ICO) industry, Google is taking steps to restrict the visibility of ICO advertising on its platforms. The reports come months after Facebook banned adverts promoting cryptocurrencies or ICOs on both Instagram and Facebook.

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Companies Report Waning Adword Performance for ICO-Related Campaigns

Despite Google making no official change to its policies regarding cryptocurrencies and ICOs, several companies operating with ICOs have reported significant drops in the performance of advertising campaigns run on Google's platforms.

An anonymous marketing firm that specializes in ICO marketing recently provided performance sheets to Finance Magnates that evidence the company witnessing a 99% reduction in clicks over the course of just two days on a Google Adwords campaign. The company also claims that the drop in performance occurred at the same time that campaign submissions began to receive "limited" approval from Google.

Other companies have claimed that running ICO-related ads have resulted in the suspension of their Adword account, in addition to a suspension of the pertinent campaign.

Lawmakers Pressure Google to Restrict Crypto Advertising on its Platforms

Last month, a senior investigator at the Manitoba Securities Commission and chairman of Canada's Binary Options Task Force, Jason Roy, praised Facebook's decision to ban cryptocurrency advertising, and indicated that it has implored Google to adopt a similar policy.

"What happened is that Canada's Binary Options Task Force, as well as the FBI, explained to Facebook what the concerns were and that these types of ads are leading to people becoming victims. We've been talking to Google and had similar discussions and are waiting for them to take similar action," Mr. Roy said. "My hope is that Google will enact a similar policy, where they specifically name products like binary options, ICOs, and cryptocurrencies."