Last year’s Super Bowl ads for Crypto promised everything and delivered nothing

“Crypto? Oh, that’s right, cryptocurrencies. The fake digital coins, right? I remember seeing them at last year’s Super Bowl. Larry David was in one. I thought that commercial was pretty funny. Say, how’s the whole crypto thing going ?”

Thanks for your question, random citizen. Well, to answer your question: not so well, unfortunately. In fact, it appears that the major crypto companies that made such a big splash during last year’s big game are either too bankrupt to possibly afford a multi-million dollar ad spot in this weekend’s game of the Kansas City Chiefs against the Philadelphia Eagles, or they would also don’t draw too much attention to yourself.

Mark Evans, Fox Sports’ VP of ad sales, said AP earlier this week that there will be “zero representation” of crypto companies during the day of Super Bowl LVII this Sunday. According to Evans, two crypto companies were already booked for advertising this year, but after FTX collapsed and declared bankruptcy, and after CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was indicted on federal fraud charges, the two named companies pulled out.

Super Bowl 2022 was nicknamed the “Crypto Bowl” for the number of crypto companies buying ads. Coinbase, Crypto.com, eToro and of course FTX all ran commercials during the big game. Other companies like Bitbuy and Binance also ran ads to coincide with last year’s Los Angeles Rams win.

Crypto.com’s commercial featured actor Matt Damon suggesting that anyone who didn’t buy into crypto was missing out and that “fortune favors the brave.” FTX got meanwhile Curb your enthusiasm star Larry David plays history’s worst villain, all while somehow equating crypto with great inventions like the wheel or the light bulb. That is, all these ads feel that much more moronic a year since they first came out, after months of crypto prices sitting at the bottom of the proverbial sink.

And just a few months after Super Bowl LVI, the crypto economy had its first crash thanks to the demise of the Terra/Luna crypto ecosystem. Although it was the FTX debacle that really gave the entire crypto community a bad name. Politicians who once supported FTX are now trying to save face, and other crypto exchanges such as Binance have desperately tried to claims it will not end up like its former rival.

The Super Bowl is chaotic enough, but there’s enough time before kickoff for us to reflect on these “Crypto Bowl” alumni and where they are now.