Baidu proactively bans Bitcoin

Online searching engine Baidu would no longer advertise services that hosted trading in Bitcoin and other virtual currencies.

China.- Online search engine Baidu became news after deciding it would no longer advertise services that hosted trading in Bitcoin and other virtual currencies. Baidu decided to take action without government prodding.

Chinese corporations mostly take action only when confronted with a crisis. However, a new trend may be slowly emerging as they start to mature and realise the importance of being responsible corporate citizens.

Baidu’s ban on advertising by cryptocurrency traders on its sites reflects this trend. In doing so the Chinese company is sending a message that it believes such services are dangerous for consumers and therefore, it won’t help to promote them.

Bitcoin and other virtual currency services are controversial due to the highly speculative trading they promote, which can result in huge losses to unsophisticated users. Such sites can also be hotbeds for fraud, as seen in past cases when companies went bankrupt or abruptly shut down, dumping big losses on their users.

Baidu hasn’t made any formal announcement regarding its change in policy yet. Instead the news was reported by two trading services, which were told their business would no longer be accepted by the search giant as of Thursday.