The effect of China’s clampdown on the crypto currency market is slowly being felt as Chinese social media sites no longer carry crypto currency ads. China began showing its hostility towards crypto currencies a few months back by announcing a blanket ban on ICOs, saying that 90% of them are fraudulent. It was followed by a warning from the Chinese government to Bitcoin miners, asking them to exit the country in an orderly manner. Fearing strong response from the government, advertisements related to crypto currencies and ICOs have disappeared from the social media sites.
The extent of the ban can be understood from the fact that even an online search for the terms such as “Bitcoin,” “ICO,” and “crypto currency” on Chinese social media sites draw a blank. The South Morning China Post (SMCP) has reported that crypto currency related searches on Weibo, a popular Chinese social media platform similar to Twitter, and Baidu, referred to as the Google of China, do not yield any results. Weibo had responded to a query from SMCP saying that they no longer allow crypto currency related ads.
It can be remembered that Facebook announced a ban of crypto currency and ICO ads a week earlier, branding them as misleading or deceptive promotional practices. However, advertisers have been turning towards Reddit and Twitter as they consider them as a good alternative to Facebook.
However, the bank will have little effect on the crypto market as developers flock to Singapore, Japan, Belarus, and other destinations, which have shown an openness towards the disruptive technology.