Ad restrictions won’t impact crypto demand, Binance CEO says

Changpeng Zhao said that the majority of crypto demand and user adoption come from word-of-mouth marketing.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, also known as “CZ,” claimed that the growing restrictions on crypto advertisement won’t impact the demand.

During his interview with CNBC, CZ stressed that physical crypto advertisements and crypto ads, in general, have not had much impact on user growth, and it has only become common over the past few years. He said that the majority of crypto adoption comes from “word of mouth” marketing. 

Clampdown on crypto advertising is unlikely to have much of an effect on demand, says @binance CEO Changpeng Zhao pic.twitter.com/K5EtuWyxGz

— CNBC International (@CNBCi) January 20, 2022

He also added that primary advertising services such as Google and Facebook had not allowed crypto ads for the longest time. Thus, it’s clear advertisement doesn’t play a significant role in crypto adoption or demand. He went on to add that the series of regulatory clampdowns on crypto ads only shows the growing demand. CZ said:

“Clampdown on crypto advertising is unlikely to have much of an effect on demand, as most of the crypto users come from word-of-mouth promotions anyway.”

The CEO’s comments come amid the growing restrictions and slew of actions taken by various countries over the past few weeks. Singapore recently issued new guidelines for crypto companies, prohibiting crypto advertising in public spaces. The Monetary Authority of Singapore also barred crypto service providers from opening crypto ATMs. Following this ruling, several crypto ATMs in the country have shut down.

United Kingdom advertisement watchdog Advertising Standards Authority also continued its crackdown on misleading crypto advertisements as it banned two ads from popular crypto trading platform Crypto.com. The Spanish government, on the other hand, is also looking to bring new regulations for crypto advertisements.

Related: UK advertiser ASA continues crypto ad banning spree

Regulators have shared their concern over the misleading content of crypto advertisements, where most crypto firms are accused of highlighting big returns while downplaying the risks associated with crypto investments. Another major obstacle is the lack of clarity over the crypto regulations in the majority of the countries, which makes crypto advertisements an even bigger headache for regulators.