Well-known email distribution platform MailChimp announced a change in its policy and has been sending out emails to users regarding its new marketing policy. Reportedly, the company will no more facilitate marketing campaigns for initial coin offerings and Blockchain oriented content especially cryptocurrency marketing from next month.
MailChimp has even decided to take down accounts of those analysts and tech journalists who cover blockchain and cryptocurrency industries. To do this, the company’s Legal team will review accounts of analysts and journalists properly before blocking.
MailChimp has taken this decision at a time when Google, Facebook, and Twitter have also banned key marketing services like advertising, which startups rely upon to capture the market share.
Moreover, MailChimp’s email to users stated that it will be banning them from using its service for crypto campaigns. The reason cited by the company is that cryptocurrency campaigns are usually linked with shady business practices are part of scams, frauds and phishing campaigns. The email read:
More: Google to ban cryptocurrency and ICO ads from June 2018
“We made this decision to update our Acceptable Use Policy in order to protect the millions of businesses that use MailChimp for their marketing.”
Cryptocurrency-related information isn’t necessarily prohibited. It can be sent as long as the sender isn’t involved in the production, sale, exchange, storage, or marketing of cryptocurrencies. Our Acceptable Use Policy goes into more detail: https://t.co/JnHajBEUNk
— MailChimp (@MailChimp) March 29, 2018
It is a well-known email marketing startup that lets users automate email campaigns. MailChimp is among the most commonly used platforms for marketing. Therefore, the move will definitely affect fundraising efforts from entertainment and technical startups.
Initial coin offerings (ICOs) are used by startup firms for fundraising as users can contribute cryptocurrency and receive tokens to perform different tasks in the startup systems. Some contributors offer funds only to get listed on the exchange. Some ICOs have already been labeled as illegal by the US Securities and Exchange Commission after it investigated and found most of them to be unregistered securities.
According to the newly released “Acceptable Use Policy” from MailChimp, the company will not allow cryptocurrency related messaging, promotion and exchange to be conducted via its system. The decision is taken to prevent the risk of frauds and scams. It must be noted that MailChimp is not the first firm to take such a bold step. Since January, various popular firms including Facebook and Google have changed their marketing related policies.
It is yet to be seen which firms would now be announcing a change in their policies related to crypto-marketing and which ones will try to fill the vacuum created after MailChimp’s decision of not facilitating cryptocurrency marketing.