Bit.ly Says It 'Does Not Block Cryptocurrency Sites,' Fixes Links For Andreas Antonopoulos' Book

Cointelegraph has reached out to Bitly, and learned that the links "Had been inadvertently blocked," while the company has reportedly resolved the issue.

'Why are you blocking links to cryptocurrency sites?'Antonopoulos, author of several well-known guides to cryptocurrencies, including "Mastering Bitcoin", called out Bitly on Twitter, revealing details of the block.

The company allegedly blacklisted over 200 links featured in "Mastering Ethereum," Antonopoulos' new book, due for publication in around four weeks.

'Bitly does not categorically block cryptocurrency sites': the company disavows rumorsOn November 5, Bitly did reply to Antonopoulos' tweet, claiming that the links were "Inadvertently blocked," and that "The issue was resolved over the weekend."

In response to the Bitly's explanation, Antonopoulos requested more details regarding the block.

"Recently, we became aware that one of author Andreas M. Antonopoulos' links had been inadvertently blocked. On occasion, as in this case, our security systems generate false positives. Bitly does not categorically block cryptocurrency sites. Once we were alerted to the issue we unblocked the domain."

Crypto-related blocks still persist in mainstream social mediaOver the past months, both Facebook and Google have reversed their crypto bans, which were originally introduced earlier this year, mainly due to "Deceptive promotional practices" among cryptocurrencies and initial coin offering ads.

On September 25, U.S. tech giant Google announced that starting in October, it will allow registered cryptocurrency exchanges to advertise on its Google Adwords platform, targeting the U.S. and Japanese audiences.

Facebook, in turn, reversed its ad ban for pre-approved cryptocurrency firms back in June, but maintained the ban on ICO advertisement.

Still, the stigma attached to crypto-related business continues to reappear in mainstream social media, although the Bitly incident has turned out to be a misunderstanding - just a few days ago Apple reportedly took down a popular crypto podcast.