Ban or regulation: Crypto ads in for overhaul as industry awaits Bill in Parliament

It wouldn’t be an overexaggeration to say that fate of cryptocurrency hangs in balance in the country. While the Cryptocurrency Bill is expected to come up for discussion in the Winter Session of Parliament some time this week, the industry is optimistic that instead of an outright ban, there will be regulations put in place for private cryptocurrency players.

As per news reports, last week, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) held talks with the Government regarding a relook at the advertising guidelines for crypto ads. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said last week that had not yet taken a call on crypto ads and called crypto a “risky area”.

Globally, Facebook has retracted its ban on crypto ads and stated that it would now accept ads from crypto firms that have licences from countries with developed cryptocurrency regulatory frameworks.

On the other hand, according to a report appearing in BeInCrypto.com, scammers used Google Ads to cryptocurrency worth $500,000 in phising attacks.

In India, the situation is quite hazy. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently banned the association of the Indian Premier League franchise teams as well as the media rights holder Star and Disney India with crypto firms as sponsors till the government set guidelines for the operation of the crypto sector.