Those hoping to see cryptocurrency ads during this year's Super Bowl will be disappointed.
FOX Business has learned that most major crypto companies will once again be on the sidelines for the biggest marketing event of the year, when the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs face off in Super Bowl III in Las Vegas on Sunday. .
The $1.7 trillion digital asset market is in much better shape than it was this time last year during the so-called “crypto winter,” but crypto companies don't have the advertising dollars they once did. Spending on advertising away from the NFL spotlight.
Kraken, the second largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, is not running any Super Bowl ads.
“The Super Bowl is a very US-centric event, and the next wave of crypto users will come from all over the world, not just the US,” Mayur Gupta, chief marketing officer at Kraken, told FOX Business. . “If the last wave of crypto marketing was about hype and FOMO (fear of escape), this current wave is about the true nature and value of cryptocurrencies as a movement for financial freedom and freedom. The proposal must be rooted in education and awareness.”
Coinbase, the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, has spent this year lobbying Congress for a comprehensive digital asset bill in the run-up to the 2024 election and campaigning for crypto-friendly politicians in Washington, D.C. The focus is on directing funds towards donations.
It's unclear whether the company, which has been a Super Bowl advertiser in the past and frequently runs TV ads, will be featured during Sunday's game.
But exchanges aren't the only thing missing from Sunday's adpalooza. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on various commercials for beer, cars, snacks, and more.
In the weeks leading up to the SEC's approval of 11 new spot Bitcoin ETFs on January 10, issuers of “spot” Bitcoin exchange-traded funds FOX Business found out that it will not be featured.
For example, BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager and provider of the iShares Bitcoin ETF, is sitting out the Super Bowl, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Even Grayscale, the crypto asset management company that holds $21 billion in Bitcoin ETFs and has launched billboard campaigns in New York City subways and airports across the country, says it doesn't advertise during Sunday's big game. a source said.
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While some Bitcoin supporters may see this as a missed opportunity, it's not surprising that a Bitcoin ETF commercial won't appear at the Super Bowl.
According to CBS, nearly all Super Bowl ad space was sold out by early November, and the Bitcoin ETF was officially approved by the SEC two months later.
But macro factors are also at play.
The industry has been cut in half since the 2021 bull market sparked by the collapse of Sam Bankman Fried’s FTX cryptocurrency exchange.
FTX became a prominent advertiser at the 2022 Super Bowl, paying $6.5 million to appear alongside industry giants like Coinbase and Crypto.com.
The commercial featured Larry David, who later admitted that Bankman Freed paid him $10 million to appear in a 30-second ad promoting FTX as the “next big thing.”
Just nine months later, FTX fell into bankruptcy and Bankman Freed was accused of spending stolen customer funds on expensive brand deals such as the Super Bowl and naming rights to the Miami Heat Arena. and agreed to pay $135 million for it.
Bankman Fried was later convicted on seven counts of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering and is awaiting sentencing in March.
In addition to the FTX debacle, regulatory uncertainty remains a top concern for many crypto companies, meaning legal costs are prioritized over marketing and advertising campaigns.
Coinbase, for example, is in a court battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The commission alleges that the exchange violates securities laws by operating as an unregistered exchange and offering similarly unregistered securities products as digital assets.
A judge in the Southern District of New York is expected to decide within the next few days whether the SEC can move forward with its lawsuit against Coinbase.
