Crypto exchange ads now allowed on Microsoft Ads (with pre-approval)

Cryptocurrency exchanges in the U.S. just received a new platform to promote on: Microsoft Advertising.

To date Microsoft has been stringent on all crypto related ads, and thankfully there will be a layer of protection included in this release that should help to curtail spammers and hucksters.

Limitations. Cryptocurrency ads will be rolling out in the United States only, and will be limited to only showing within the Microsoft Advertising Search Network. The inventory in the Microsoft Audience Network (display and native) won’t be eligible to run ads for the exchanges.

Pre-approval required. In order to run ads, an exchange must be pre-approved by Microsoft advertising or must be “educational content” offered by the brand/first party. What will still be disallowed:

• Ads that promote crypto investments or training programs.
• Sites that monetize cryptocurrency advice or offer subscriptions, initial coin offerings or cryptocurrency wallets.

Lastly, advertisers will need to adhere with regulatory and licensing requirements for all locations where their ads are targeted.

Why we care. It’s about time that legitimate cryptocurrency exchanges will be able to promote themselves and it seems that this careful approach should shield Microsoft Bing users from fraud. If you are in the cryptocurrency exchange space, reach out to your Microsoft rep to get started.