On the 14th of March, Google announced that it would ban all cryptocurrency-related advertising for June this year, which was as per a recent update to their financial services policy. Under the new rules posted by Google, no advertisements for “cryptocurrencies and related content (including but not limited to initial coin offerings, cryptocurrency exchanges, cryptocurrency wallets, and cryptocurrency trading advice),” will be accepted in Google Adwords, which is Google’s pay per click platform for advertisers.
This recent change to Google’s policy means that companies will not be able to serve cryptocurrency advertisements on the Google search engine page, or any sites in its advertising network. In an interview with CNBC, Scott Spencer, who is the Director of Sustainable Advertising said the following about this change to Google’s policy. “We don’t have a crystal ball to know where the future is going to go with cryptocurrencies, but we’ve seen enough consumer harm or potential for consumer harm that it’s an area that we want to approach with extreme caution.”
The price of Bitcoin dropped below $8,000. The price dipped below $7,811.22 in the early hours of trading today, which is a drop of over $300 compared to Wednesday. This was the lowest recorded price for Bitcoin since February the 11th, when it dipped to a low of $7,845.13. Other cryptocurrencies have also seen losses as well, including Ethereum, which is now below $600, another record low since February. According to data from OnChianFX, all of the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market cap have experienced losses of 10 percent or more over the last 24 hours. While some coins like NEO gas and icon are below 20 for that timeframe. Furthermore, the market cap of all crypto coins is at its lowest since the market correction of February 6.
On the 15th of March, an investment association in China led by the government announced its establishment of a funding centre to develop blockchain technology, as reported by the Chinese news outlet, The Paper.
The funding centre is named the Global Blockchain and Investment and Development Center (GBIDC), and is led by the Investment Association of China (IAC). The news of this new initiative came from a leaked press release, which has since been verified by Liu Ren, vice chariman of the IAC. Ren cited the growing popularity of the blockchain as the decision to launch the initiative, and decided to provide funding to “shape standards for the industry,” he added. So far, the source of funding from either private or government sectors remains unclear.
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