Social networking giant Facebook is reversing its blanket ban on advertisements relating to cryptocurrencies.

Earlier this year, Facebook announced a new policy to prohibit promotional activities on initial coin offerings (ICOs) and cryptocurrency. According to latest reports, the company has revised the policy – allowing cryptocurrency ads on its platform, which the ban on ICO ads still stands.

However, there is a catch – cryptocurrency advertisements would be allowed only for preapproved advertisers. Facebook will approve advertisers to promote crypto businesses and services through an application process. According to Recode, interested advertisers may be required to show Facebook “licenses they have obtained, whether they are traded on a public stock exchange, and other relevant public background on their business.”

Shane Brett, Co-founder and CEO of GECKO Governance, welcomed Facebook’s move and expects the social networking platform to continue evolving its policy in this area.

“The reversal of this policy is a welcome development. It indicates that Facebook may have taken the recent global upswing in regulation for cryptocurrencies into account when revising their policies, as well as the emergence of institutional investment in the space. Additionally, their renewed interest in blockchain technology and their investment in the same may have also contributed to this shift in policy,” Brett said in a statement. “We expect that Facebook will continue to evolve this policy as more regulation in the industry emerges and that other platforms will begin to follow suit."

Carlos Grenoir, CEO of Olyseum, believes that the crypto ban reversal “could have something to do with its [Facebook’s] own strategy regarding the evolving crypto space.” Grenoir is also in favor of Facebook backtracking its ban on ICO ads. He explained:

“It would make sense for Facebook to also change its policy on ads promoting binary options and ICOs…Once the ICO space is adequately regulated and devoid of scams, it is logical that key public channels will become part of the ICO ecosystem, opening the door to increased visibility for the space. A social network is perfect for this, and the promotion of ICOs can be perfect economically for social networks too.”

According to Gianluca Giancola, Co-founder and Head of Design & UX at blockchain-powered loyalty ecosystem qiibee, the screening and approval process will make things much more secure, and make the platform less prone to scams being advertised. He, however, does not see much of a possibility of a similar move regarding ICO ads.

“It is unlikely to allow ICO marketing, at least in the medium-term, as ICOs continue to be highly risky. On a more fundamental level, a lot of the technology is still somewhat inaccessible to the mainstream, and invites a lot of quick-profit traders and fewer fundamental investors. It remains to be seen whether the likes of Google or Twitter will follow suit, however if they do, they are likely to introduce strict policies as well to avoid fraudulent advertising, since user security seems to be the biggest issue,” Giancola said.