File photo: A man walks past an electric board showing exchange rates of various cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (top L) at a cryptocurrencies exchange in Seoul, South Korea December 13, 2017. (REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji)
Cryptocurrency ads will be allowed to make a comeback on Facebook.
On Tuesday, the company decided to reverse its ban against the ads, but with a couple conditions. First, the advertisers must be pre-approved. Second, no ads promoting initial coin offerings, which are often connected to scams, will be permitted.
Facebook originally announced the ban back in January, near the height of the cryptocurrency craze. According to the company, some of the ads were misleading potential investors with claims of "no-risk." Others mentioned using your retirement funds to buy Bitcoin, which has since dropped from $11,000 in value to $6,100.
"In the last few months, we've looked at the best way to refine this policy — to allow some ads while also working to ensure that they're safe," Facebook said in a blog post, explaining its decision to lift the ban.
More From PCmag
"Not everyone who wants to advertise will be able to do so," the company added. To enroll, advertisers must first submit an application, which asks for official documentation including businesses licenses and whether the applicant has been listed on any public stock exchange.
Despite the limitations, the change opens a door for cryptocurrency providers to promote their services and products over a mainstream platform, at a time when interest in the market has been cooling. Other major sites such as Twitter and Google have strict bans against the cryptocurrency ads.
Facebook partially reversed the ban when the company itself has taken a keen interest in blockchain technology, the backbone to many of the popular crytocurrencies on the market. Last month, Facebook executive David Marcus announced he was forming a small team to explore "how to best leverage blockchain across Facebook, starting from scratch."
This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.
Get a daily look at what’s developing in science and technology throughout the world.