Yandex’s Cryptocurrency Ad Ban Sparks Surge in Scams

At the end of August, Yandex banned advertisements for nearly all crypto services on its platform, leading to a surge in fraudulent activities. This was highlighted by experts from the AML service BitOK.

Now, any search query containing the word “cryptocurrency” results in numerous scam courses and signal advertisements being displayed.

The disappearance of Russian crypto exchanges from search results has allowed phishing sites targeting digital asset theft to take their place.

In response, major market players, to comply with Yandex’s rules, have been forced to abandon direct advertising of their services and shift towards promoting educational materials, free lessons, and guides on choosing trading platforms.

In comments to ForkLog, BitOK founder and CEO Dmitry Machikhin stated that the current situation does not resemble structured measures and appears to be “indiscriminate shooting at sparrows.”

“This has hit bloggers — naturally, their incomes will fall. I don’t see any prospects for change at the moment. Perhaps clearer rules and criteria would allow crypto projects to circumvent the restrictions,” he suggested.

The ban on advertising digital currencies, mining services, exchanges, and exchangers is enshrined in the law regulating cryptocurrency mining. Indefibank CEO Sergey Mendeleev believes that Yandex, as an advertising operator, is responsible for the ambiguous interpretation of the regulatory act’s provisions.

“The law provides for the impossibility of advertising everything. Yandex should have either enforced the law for everyone or for no one,” the expert explained.

Mendeleev added that the mining law does not provide for any penalties for violations, while the “Advertising Law” stipulates “laughable” fines.

Earlier, ForkLog reported that participants of CryptoSummit in Russia were banned from advertising cryptocurrencies.