Super Bowl LVI was the crypto world’s coming out party. Buzzy firms made bold pitches last year, and shelled out millions of dollars on ads encouraging viewers not to be afraid of this new-fangled digital investment.
You can expect a lot less noise from Team Crypto during today’s Super Bowl LVII telecast.
In the year since those celebrity-packed ads debuted, the entire crypto industry has been rattled by a collapse in digital asset values. Bankruptcies began to pile up over the summer.
Then the real pain started.
Of the four crypto or crypto-affiliated companies that advertised in the Super Bowl last year, one (FTX) has collapsed completely. The others (Coinbase, Crypto.com and eToro) have fought against industry headwinds. Shares of Coinbase, the only publicly traded company in the group, have fallen more than 60% since its “floating QR code” ad became one of the most talked-about spots.
Don’t expect any of those companies to be back this year. FTX is bankrupt and under criminal investigation by federal prosecutors. The multi-asset trading platform eToro confirmed to CNN it would not be splurging on an ad this year.
Coinbase declined to comment. Representatives for Crypto.com — the company behind the ad featuring LeBron James telling his younger self to “call your own shots” — didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Despite what is being called a “crypto winter,” sports advertising remains a crucial avenue for digital curencies, marketing experts say, as their target demographics share significant overlap — sports fans and crypto traders tend to be mostly male and young.
But turmoil in the crypto space means marketers are changing their tactics.
“Crypto firms are focusing less on crypto advertising and more on investing in better user experiences, products, and customer service,” said Silvia Lacayo, head of marketing at crypto exchange Bitstamp US.
Read more about the changing crypto landscape here.
