Years after ‘Crypto Bowl’, crypto ads disappear from big games

NEW YORK (AP) — How the mighty have fallen.

Cryptocurrency companies took the spotlight during the 2022 Super Bowl, with ads from a handful of newcomers to advertising’s biggest stage: FTX, Coinbase, Crypto.com and eToro. Some marketing experts called it the “Crypto Bowl.”

A year later, the industry has been humiliated by a massive drop in crypto prices, as well as the bankruptcy of several well-known companies.

The dramatic turnaround dates back to 2000, when dot-com companies like Pets.com ran Super Bowl ads, only to go out of business within a year or two.

This year, crypto companies have “zero representation,” said Mark Evans, executive vice president of ad sales for Fox Sports.

Here’s a look at the crypto companies that announced at last year’s Super Bowl and where they stand now:

FTX: BANKRUPT

Cryptocurrency exchange FTX was one of the biggest advertisers in last year’s Super Bowl, with ads that included celebrity comedian Larry David. While FTX was the world’s second or third largest crypto exchange at the time, it did not do much business in the US

Within 10 months of Super Bowl LVI, FTX was bankrupt. The Bahamas-based company collapsed after investors began withdrawing their deposits due to concerns about the company’s balance sheet. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on November 11.

FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested and charged with defrauding customers out of billions of dollars. He is scheduled to go on trial in October.

David, along with other celebrities such as football star Tom Brady and basketball star Stephen Curry, were named in a lawsuit that claimed their celebrity status made them guilty of promoting the company’s failed business model.

CRYPTO.COM: humbled

While Crypto.com is still operating, the company is significantly less healthy than it was a year earlier.

The Singapore-based company announced in January that it was laying off 20% of its workforce, in addition to layoffs taking place at the end of 2022. The company also revealed that a significant portion of its assets were tied up in low-quality cryptocurrency coins such as . Shiba Inu coin.

Like FTX, Crypto.com tried to make a name for itself through sports sponsorship. The company spent $700 million on the naming rights to the former Staples Center, where the Los Angeles Lakers play. It is now the Crypto.com Arena. The company’s 2022 Super Bowl ad featured basketball superstar Lebron James, with the tagline “fortune favors the brave.”

Crypto.com said the layoffs were due to a “confluence of negative economic developments,” but the CEO placed a significant amount of blame on the collapse of FTX.

COIN BASE: IN LEGAL HOT WATER

Coinbase had one of the weirder ads in at least this year’s Super Bowl, with a floating QR code that would take users to a promotion where the company was giving away millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies. Marketing experts called it one of the more successful ads in the game, as it surprised people and stood out, although many viewers found it confusing.

Shares in publicly traded Coinbase have fallen more than 70% since last year’s game. With digital currencies like bitcoin plummeting, the company has seen trading revenue dry up as investors have avoided buying crypto altogether.

The company also announced layoffs equivalent to around 20% of its workforce, and the company’s CEO has said the company is preparing for what it calls “a crypto winter.”

Furthermore, Coinbase has drawn the attention of US regulators. The company had to pay $100 million to settle a New York state investigation into whether it allowed users to sign up for accounts without adequate background checks. The Securities and Exchange Commission is also looking into whether to ban the cryptocurrency practice of “staking,” which had been big business for Coinbase in the past.

ETORO: NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS?

The fourth crypto company to have a Super Bowl ad last year was eToro. The company, based in Israel, ran an ad promoting social investment.”

Unlike FTX, Coinbase and Crypto.com, eToro has largely avoided negative news over the past year. The company expanded its offerings beyond crypto to allow users to buy stocks and options as well as non-fungible tokens, better known as NFTs.