- The virtual currency market is booming again.
- Cryptocurrency companies are now advertising on TV, just as they did during the first boom.
- However, it still doesn't feel quite the same as the previous cryptocurrency boom. At least not yet.
One sign that cryptocurrencies are making a comeback is that their prices are soaring again.
Another sign is that crypto companies are once again advertising on TV.
If you've been watching the NBA playoffs, you may have noticed the following ad from Crypto.com.
For those who haven't yet, here are the elements to look out for:
- As a general argument, they hate us because they're not us “They ignored your potential. They belittled your achievements and mocked your ambitions. But it's not the critics that count, and you know it.”
- A story that suggests crypto investors are just as brave, tough and strong as UFC fighters.
- Dubbed by 51-year-old rapper Eminem.
- The last time I saw a sharp re-emphasis of the company's “Fortune favors the brave” slogan was in a TV ad for the 2022 Super Bowl. The event has now become shorthand for the overreach of cryptocurrencies into popular culture. That particular ad starring Matt Damon has been (mostly) removed from the internet, but it's a parody of South Park and the caution that Damon stopped explaining why he did that ad (he says it was for charity). It was not deleted until an interview with the same language was generated.
Crypto.com is not the only company that is promoting cryptocurrencies again on TV. Coinbase, which also bought time during the 2022 Super Bowl, will be back as well. Grayscale Investments has that too. However, they are not as aggressive as cryptocurrencies. Coinbase cheekily claims that cryptocurrencies make more sense than traditional money, and Grayscale simply says that it's better to buy cryptocurrencies through funds like ETFs than to buy them yourself. Just there.
Cryptocurrencies, on the other hand, are a good match for your emotions. Suppose you have the feelings of a young man who thinks the world doesn't value you and the desire to become very rich. That means you're an easy target for cryptocurrencies and anything else that puts your money at risk in hopes of paying big dividends. It makes perfect sense to run alongside ads that tell you how fun it is to bet on the very game you're watching (unless you're an NBA player).
That being said, the crypto resurgence in 2024 still seems more like an echo of the previous boom than a repeat. You don't run into someone who confidently tries to explain a meme stock strategy like I did a few years ago. And beyond Jack Dorsey, I haven't heard anyone claim that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will restructure/reorder society. It's just that the number may increase, so why not pick up a flyer?
But you never know. Maybe The Onion was right. And we are experiencing a “rapid decline in the retro gap.” In other words, the early 2020s are now a vague, sepia-toned memory that some of us would like to take back.
That would explain a few different things, including: GameStop's day trading hero Roaring Kitty is back, and so is GME stock. It is up 60% on Monday.
To the moon! Also?
