Super Bowl = Crypto Bowl, thanks to Coinbase Global, FTX, Crypto.com – Just the start?

For the 13 February broadcast of the 2022 Super Bowl, crypto-companies have reportedly spent millions to score the sports sponsorship. WSJ has cited sources to reveal that Coinbase Global, FTX, and Crypto.com will be running a spot during the game.

$7 million for 30 seconds

Adweek reported that these brands are shedding close to $7 million for 30 seconds of ad coverage on NBC. This also represents the crypto-companies’ ability to spend. Linli Xu, Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management told the media,

“It shows investors and consumers that a company is in a position to spend and it’s going to survive.”

Especially considering there is a huge untapped market. As of the end of last year, Pew Research found that only 16% of Americans had invested or were trading in cryptocurrencies. Even when a majority of them had heard about the asset class already, For many, the aversion is not without reason.

Volatility remains a concern

The asset class is highly volatile, with Bitcoin recording an almost 50% drop in price early this month from its peak last year. Even when Bitcoin and other tokens are now down the recovery road, some experts have substantially corrected their future price predictions.

For instance, JP Morgan lowered its previous long-term price target of $150,000 for Bitcoin. Now, on the back of the asset’s volatility and market size of gold, the bank claims its new price prediction is $38,000. And, on the back of this uncertainty for the new class, many are reminded of the “Dot-Com Super Bowl of 2000.”

Adweek noted that back in the Dot-Com Era, the Super Bowl featured ads from 14 web startups and many tech companies. The paper spoke to Scott Duchon, a pioneer of some ads on 2000 Super Bowl, who explained,

“The fear around your finances is a parallel,” and therefore, crypto companies, much like the tech companies are buying ad space to “build credibility and legitimacy, and reduce fear and anxiety.”

Here, it’s worth pointing out that the sports event attracted 96.4 million viewers across all platforms last year. This means it is the first time that these crypto-giants are betting big on the mainstream.

Crypto.com’s Damon moment

AMBCrypto had previously run a report that stated Crypto.com paid $6.5 million for a 30-second spot on NBC, with FTX spending $20 million for a similar spot.

At the time, Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek told WSJ,

“Going into different sports just allows me to reach everybody where they are. Super Bowl is just one more step into that, where it’s as mass as you get.”

In the past, Crypto.com has teamed up with actor Matt Damon and director Wally Pfister. But, despite Damon having his crypto-moment, it didn’t go well with all of the Internet. Citing research by Sprout Social, the report found that the percentage of negative crypto-tweets doubled from 8% to 16% within two months of Crypto.com’s ad launch in late October.