Bitcoin slumps as Facebook bans cryptocurrency adverts

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.”

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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.