Bitcoin slumps as Facebook bans cryptocurrency adverts
Digital token’s price fell by 10% on Wednesday morning
Bitcoin’s value has fallen for the second time in two weeks, after Facebook announced it is banning adverts for cryptocurrencies.
The social media giant’s new policy prohibits any adverts that “relate to cryptocurrencies or initial coin offerings (ICOs)”, The Daily Telegraph says.
According to Bloomberg, Facebook’s policy also extends to “binary options trading”, which is “a risky derivative with an all-or-nothing pay-off.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The advertising guidelines will extend to the company’s other properties, including Instagram, the news site adds.
In a blogpost, Facebook said: “This policy is intentionally broad while we work to better detect deceptive and misleading advertising practices.”
The social network said it will “revisit this policy and how we enforce it as our signals improve”, suggesting the ban on cryptocurrency adverts isn’t permanent.
But the news had an effect on the value of bitcoin, which dropped by 10% to $9,810 (£6,930) per coin on Wednesday morning. The figure is the lowest that the digital currency has been for two months, and “less than half the price it peaked at in December”, says The Daily Telegraph.
The token’s price also fell last Tuesday, after the South Korean government announced a ban on anonymous cryptocurrency trading.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - December 22, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - the long and short of it, trigger finger, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 hilariously spirited cartoons about the spirit of Christmas
Cartoons Artists take on excuses, pardons, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Inside the house of Assad
The Explainer Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez, ruled Syria for more than half a century but how did one family achieve and maintain power?
By The Week UK Published
-
What Trump's win could mean for Big Tech
Talking Points The tech industry is bracing itself for Trump's second administration
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Paraguay's dangerous dalliance with cryptocurrency
Under The Radar Overheating Paraguayans are pushing back over power outages caused by illegal miners
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Is the AI bubble deflating?
Today's Big Question Growing skepticism and high costs prompt reconsideration
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
How social media is limiting political content
The Explainer Critics say Meta's 'extraordinary move' to have less politics in users' feeds could be 'actively muzzling civic action'
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty: where does crypto go from here?
Today's Big Question Conviction of the 'tousle-haired mogul' confirms sector's 'Wild West' and 'rogue' image, say experts
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Twitter's year of Elon Musk: what happens next?
In the Spotlight 'Your platform is dying', says one commentator, but new CEO is aiming for profitability next year
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Turns out Facebook isn't as polarizing as previously thought
Talking Point New studies show that, contrary to prior belief, the algorithm has little effect on driving polarization
By Theara Coleman Published
-
Mark Zuckerberg vs. Elon Musk: a tale of the tech tape
Under the Radar The two men challenged each other to a fight after years of sniping
By Justin Klawans Published