The growing crisis of faith in crytpocurrencies erupted yesterday with the announcement by Facebook and Instagram that they would no longer be carrying advertisements for the new product. Facebook said it was concerned about advertisements by scam artists looking to take advantage of a poorly informed, gullible public. “We want people to continue to discover and learn about new products and services through Facebook ads without fear of scams or deception,” wrote Rob Leathern, product management director for Facebook Business. “Two of our core advertising principles outline our belief that ads should be safe, and that we build for people first. Misleading or deceptive ads have no place on Facebook. That said, there are many companies who are advertising binary options, ICOs and crypto-currencies that are not currently operating in good faith.”
The recent explosion in prices of Bitcoin has created enormous excitement over the new form of currency, as well as the threat of scams. Last week, a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange lost over $500 million in a spectacular heist that threatened to spark a run on similar exchanges. Yesterday, the American Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched an investigation into Bitfinex, an exchange, and into the digital coin company Tether. The two companies appear to have been run by the same people.
