Twitter confirms it's banning cryptocurrency ads

Twitter has confirmed a report that it's joining Google and Facebook in banning advertisement on its site for cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.

As part of its commitment to "ensuring the safety of the Twitter community," the social media site is adding a new policy prohibiting the advertisement of initial coin offerings and token sales, a Twitter representative said Monday in an emailed statement.

The ban will be rolled out starting Tuesday and will be full enforceable for all advertisers within about a month.

It makes Twitter just the latest tech giant to ban such ads. In January, Facebook said it wouldn't allow crypto ads on its social network, and Google followed course last week. Reddit has reportedly banned crypto ads since 2016.

The bans are blows to the nascent market for digital coins but are implemented in the name of consumer protection. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies struggle with fraudulent activity and illegal transactions. Because digital coin exchanges are still largely unregulated and transactions are hard to reverse, they've become targets for scams and hacks.

Last week Sky News reported that Twitter was planning a crypto ban, citing a person familiar with the plans.