Google to allow certain cryptocurrency ads in U.S., Japan

(Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's Google said on Tuesday it would allow certain regulated cryptocurrency exchanges to advertise in the United States and Japan, easing an earlier ban on all cryptocurrency ads.

The changes will take place in October and advertisers will need to be certified with Google for the country where the ads will appear, the search engine giant said in a blog post. https://reut.rs/2O6maBV

The company said in March it would ban advertisements for cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings, starting June.

Google's action follows a similar move by Facebook Inc. The social media giant has allowed certain ads promoting cryptocurrency and related content from pre-approved advertisers, while banning those tied to binary options and initial coin offerings.

Google's move to ban such ads in March had sent the price of the best-known cryptocurrency, bitcoin, down more than 10 percent.

(Reporting by Sonam Rai in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham and Sriraj Kalluvila)