Google may start showing Bitcoin ETF ads on Monday, according to community speculation

The crypto community is contemplating what impact Google’s handling of 100,000 searches per second might have on spot Bitcoin ETFs. On Monday, Jan. 29, Google will update its policies to allow advertisements for certain cryptocurrency products on major search engines. A bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) with an asset value of $42,259 appears likely to meet the criteria, causing speculation in the crypto community. 

In December 2023, Cointelegraph reported that Google’s crypto and related marketing policy would be amended on January 29 to enable ads from “advertisers offering Crypto Coin Trust targeting the United States.” The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs on January 10, giving investors a stake in the fund’s Bitcoin holdings. This is consistent with Google’s new requirements: “Financial products that allow investors to trade shares in trusts holding large pools of digital currency.” Crypto analysts are hopeful about future inflows into Bitcoin ETFs, noting Google’s large transaction processing capability in searches. 

DemandSage reports that Google processes 8.55 billion queries every day. However, Google vaguely refers to the permitted items as “cryptocurrency coin trusts.” Meanwhile, one of the largest Bitcoin trusts, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), recently converted to a spot Bitcoin ETF, one of four approved by the SEC on January 10. Previously, only accredited investors could buy GBTC shares on the primary market, with a six-month holding period.

Accredited investors must have a net worth greater than $1 million or earn more than $200,000 in the previous two years. These rules are in place to protect potential investors with inadequate expertise from risky investments that could result in the loss of their assets. However, spot Bitcoin ETFs are now available to the general public in the United States. They are governed by the Securities Act of 1933, making them a potentially safer alternative for Google to use in advertising. In August 2021, well-known cryptocurrency trader Michael van de Poppe expressed optimism about the impact of Google ads on Bitcoin-related goods, particularly in light of the SEC chair’s investigation into Bitcoin Futures ETFs, which were approved in October 2021.

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