VKontakte allowed to advertise cryptocurrency and exchanges not prohibited in Russia

Since August 8, the social network has allowed advertising of projects based on cryptocurrency, ICOs and various exchanges, if they are not prohibited in Russia. Representatives of VKontakte informed TJ about this.

In addition to services, it is allowed to promote educational platforms and media dedicated to bitcoins and mining. However, advertisements for services that promise “quick and passive income” will continue to be rejected.

Our team believes in the principles of maximum openness and security on which blockchain technology is built. We decided to remove restrictions on the VKontakte advertising platform in order to open up even more opportunities for the active development of the cryptocurrency market.

Andrey Rogozov

According to VKontakte statistics, over the past year the number of discussions about cryptocurrencies has increased sharply on the social network. Mentions of the word “bitcoin” in posts and comments increased by 148%, “cryptocurrency” by 347%, “mining” by 244%, “blockchain” by 468%, and “ethereum” by 385%.

On July 27, some representatives of the VKontakte community dedicated to cryptocurrencies reported a ban on advertising such services on the social network. Then the social network explained the ban by clause No. 9 of the VKontakte rules (“advertising does not comply with the general advertising policy, views and beliefs of the administration”), as well as the uncertain status of cryptocurrencies in Russian law.

Representatives of VKontakte in their message cite the words of Artyom Tolkachev, director of the tax and legal department of Deloitte in the CIS: in his opinion, cryptocurrencies “are no longer perceived exclusively as a means of payment for illegal transactions, [which] is largely due to the development of industrial solutions based on smart contracts." On June 2, Vladimir Putin met at SPIEF with Vitalik Buterin, the founder of Ethereum, a cryptocurrency based on smart contracts.

Judging by the message from VKontakte, the advertising ban will be maintained for such large exchanges as Bitstamp and BTC-E. Access to them was limited back in 2015 by the Primorsky District Court of St. Petersburg.

#cryptocurrencies #vkontakte