Facebook, which previously banned cryptocurrency ads, has now further rolled back its decision since it will no longer require pre-approval from advertisers in this space.
Facebook first initiated the blanket ban in January 2018 against ads promoting cryptocurrencies and ICOs out of fear that some of Facebook’s users were being scammed. Later that same year, in June, Facebook updated their “policy to allow ads that promote cryptocurrency and related content from pre-approved advertisers”, but “continue[d] to prohibit ads that promote binary options and initial coin offerings”. Now, Facebook is further rolling back their previous policies after they “listened to feedback and assessed the policy’s effectiveness”.
“While we will still require people to apply to run ads promoting cryptocurrency, starting today, we will narrow this policy to no longer require pre-approval for ads related to blockchain technology, industry news, education or events related to cryptocurrency.”
The announcement comes as reports are circulating that Facebook is pursuing their own cryptocurrency/stablecoin to enable WhatsApp users to send money back and forth to each other.
Regulation clarity to help increase business acceptance of cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency regulations are changing fairly frequently, which thus affects how mainstream businesses and individuals treat their cryptocurrency activities. Last week, SEC Commissioner Hester M. Peirce, also known as “Crypto Mom“, implored the SEC to issue more clear cryptocurrency guidelines to foster better regulations. At the Securities Enforcement Forum in East Palo Alto, California, she reinforced her previous arguments that the SEC and regulations should not get in the way of innovation.
“We should not be trying to guide innovation, but we also should recognize that we cannot stop it and embrace the potential for positive change that innovation offers. Our silence is likely to simply push this innovation and any attendant economic growth into other jurisdictions that have done their work and provided clear guidelines for the market participants to follow.”
[tweet https://twitter.com/jchervinsky/status/1126999090112471045 align=’left’ hide_thread=’true’] This also comes as FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network), another powerful U.S. financial regulatory and crime enforcement agency, issued revised guidance on how they will treat cryptocurrencies and ICOs. Jake Chervinsky, a prominent lawyer and crypto personality on twitter did a 21 tweet break down of the 30 page revision into his winners and losers. The revision includes the ability to classify ICOs as money transmitters rather than the previous classification of securities if they “sell tokens that aren’t securities & retain the ability to issue & redeem those tokens”.
While correlation does not mean causation, the emergence of refined government positions on cryptocurrencies does bode well for current and future crypto innovations as more businesses can become more lenient with their cryptocurrency activities, much like Facebook has done with their advertisement program. However, overall cryptocurrency regulation in the United States and other countries are still very fluid, uncertain, and prone to change, which runs counter to many business preferences that dislike uncertainty.
Dash gaining acceptance via direct interactions and legal frameworks
Some cryptocurrency projects depend on ads to increase their awareness and adoption, however, Dash has been focusing on on-the-ground adoption methods via community outreach groups to increase adoption and usage. Groups like Dash Colombia and Dash Brazil have been operating Dash Invites to organize local residents to make purchases at local merchants with Dash and encouraging future activities after the events are over. Then multiple groups in Venezuela have also been conducting local engagement to encourage adoption. However, Dash Text ran into specific roadblocks when attempting to integrate their popular SMS Dash transmitting service into WhatsApp. They were able to integrate into Telegram, but Facebook, the owner of WhatsApp, had a ban on cryptocurrency activities on the WhatsApp platform.
Dash has also been pushing the boundaries of regulatory compliance. Recently, Dash was able to form the Trust Protectors as a part of the Dash Irrevocable Trust to ensure that the Dash Core Group is carrying out the best interests of the network. Then the Dash Investment Foundation was just announced after many months of research to ensure the exact structure could be compliant without requiring KYC/AML information from Dash masternodes. Dash is also pursuing a no-action letter from the SEC to help further supplement the many reasons users can feel confidence when using Dash.
