London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Dec 03, 2025

Welcome to the crypto Super Bowl

Welcome to the crypto Super Bowl

The priciest Super Bowl commercials will cost a record $7 million this year, according to NBC. To put that into terms many of the big game's advertisers will understand, that's about 160 bitcoin or 2,200 ether.

Cryptocurrencies will be taking center stage during the ad breaks of Super Bowl LVI, even as bitcoin prices have tumbled more than 35% from their all-time highs just a few months ago.

FTX, a crypto exchange that recently raised funding valuing it at $32 billion, has had the now retired seven-time Super Bowl champ Tom Brady appear in its previous spots and will run an ad during Sunday's game. (Brady and his wife, Gisele Bündchen, also own a stake in FTX.)

The company wouldn't disclose if Brady or any other celebrities would be in its ad, but it is promising to give away bitcoins as part of the promotion.

Crypto.com, a cryptocurrency exchange that has used actor Matt Damon in its commercials, confirmed to CNN Business that it also will have an ad. The company wouldn't say if Damon will appear in the Super Bowl spot.

Social media gives crypto firms anther way to do Super Bowl ads


Binance, another crypto exchange, has been doing a lot of social media advertising leading up to the Super Bowl, including spots featuring basketball star Jimmy Butler telling investors not to take advice from celebrities. But the company isn't advertising during the game itself.

"A Super Bowl ad does not make sense for us," said Patrick Hillmann, chief communications officer at Binance. "Education about crypto is not happening in 30-second ads during the Super Bowl. It's weird to market blockchain the way you would a bag of potato chips or light beer."

"You're seeing this massive influx of new users but there are concerns about the gap between total users and educated users," Hillmann added. "Those who understand the industry, the positives and the negatives, are more likely to be around for the long-term."

Toronto-based crypto trading firm Bitbuy has a Super Bowl ad that will run only in Canada that features Butler's Miami Heat teammate (and former Toronto Raptor) Kyle Lowry. The ad urges investors to not miss out on crypto trading and pokes fun at the number of shots Lowry has missed in his career.

Lowry told CNN Business that many athletes are talking about investing in cryptos, so advertising for it during one of the biggest sports events in the world makes sense.

"There are lot of conversations in the NBA talking about doing more in NFTs and cryptos," Lowry said. "People are trying to figure it out and trying to learn."

Bitbuy added in an email to CNN Business that the goal of the Super Bowl ad is to reach older Gen X and younger baby boomers who still may be on the crypto sidelines.

"Bitbuy has reached the point where growing our customer base means attracting new consumer segments," the company said. "You can't keep speaking to the same early adopters over and over again who have already jumped in crypto."

In another sign of how crypto is taking over the sports world, both Butler and Lowry now play in what's known as FTX Arena. The crypto firm secured the naming rights in 2021 for $135 million over 19 years. It had previously been the American Airlines Arena.

Crypto.com has a stadium deal, too. The Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers NBA teams, the Los Angeles Sparks WNBA franchise and Los Angeles Kings hockey team now play in Crypto.com Arena.

Coinbase is reportedly advertising during the Super Bowl as well, but the crypto brokerage, which went public last year, declined to comment about any commercial plans when asked by CNN Business.

Internet ad frenzy all over again?


The crypto marketing blitz is reminiscent of the deluge of dot-com companies and online brokers that splurged on commercials during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Several of those companies no longer exist. Epidemic.com and Pets.com (remember the sock puppet?) both advertised in the 2000 Super Bowl and didn't even make it to the end of that year.

Are the companies advertising this year destined for a similar fate, given the massive drop in crypto prices in the past few months?

"There are certainly shades of 2000, but we're not sitting under the same tree exactly," said Mitchell Olsen, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business.

"These are relatively new industries generating interest from early adopters but not as much from the mainstream. They are now ready to reach out to a larger portion of people," Olsen added. "Time will tell if this is a high water mark for the industry."

The opportunity to reach more than 100 million viewers — last year's game was watched by 91.6 million on CBS — justifies the price of a Super Bowl ad, said Brett Harrison, president of FTX US.

"Every year the Super Bowl attracts the hottest and largest companies and has a reputation for its ads," Harrison said, adding that crypto trading is still a "nascent industry" and that "we want more eyes on the product." He also noted that, unlike many of those dot-coms from 20 years ago, FTX is profitable.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Plans Major Cutback to Jury Trials as Crown Court Backlog Nears 80,000
UK Government to Significantly Limit Jury Trials in England and Wales
U.S. and U.K. Seal Drug-Pricing Deal: Britain Agrees to Pay More, U.S. Lifts Tariffs
UK Postpones Decision Yet Again on China’s Proposed Mega-Embassy in London
Head of UK Budget Watchdog Resigns After Premature Leak of Reeves’ Budget Report
Car-sharing giant Zipcar to exit UK market by end of 2025
Reports of Widespread Drone Deployment Raise Privacy and Security Questions in the UK
UK Signals Security Concerns Over China While Pursuing Stronger Trade Links
Google warns of AI “irrationality” just as Gemini 3 launch rattles markets
Top Consultancies Freeze Starting Salaries as AI Threatens ‘Pyramid’ Model
Macron Says Washington Pressuring EU to Delay Enforcement of Digital-Regulation Probes Against Meta, TikTok and X
UK’s DragonFire Laser Downs High-Speed Drones as £316m Deal Speeds Naval Deployment
UK Chancellor Rejects Claims She Misled Public on Fiscal Outlook Ahead of Budget
Starmer Defends Autumn Budget as Finance Chief Faces Accusations of Misleading Public Finances
EU Firms Struggle with 3,000-Hour Paperwork Load — While Automakers Fear De Facto 2030 Petrol Car Ban
White House launches ‘Hall of Shame’ site to publicly condemn media outlets for alleged bias
UK Budget’s New EV Mileage Tax Undercuts Case for Plug-In Hybrids
UK Government Launches National Inquiry into ‘Grooming Gangs’ After US Warning and Rising Public Outcry
Taylor Swift Extends U.K. Chart Reign as ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ Hits Six Weeks at No. 1
250 Still Missing in the Massive Fire, 94 Killed. One Day After the Disaster: Survivor Rescued on the 16th Floor
Trump: National Guard Soldier Who Was Shot in Washington Has Died; Second Soldier Fighting for His Life
UK Chancellor Reeves Defends Tax Rises as Essential to Reduce Child Poverty and Stabilise Public Finances
No Evidence Found for Claim That UK Schools Are Shifting to Teaching American English
European Powers Urge Israel to Halt West Bank Settler Violence Amid Surge in Attacks
"I Would Have Given Her a Kidney": She Lent Bezos’s Ex-Wife $1,000 — and Received Millions in Return
European States Approve First-ever Military-Grade Surveillance Network via ESA
UK to Slash Key Pension Tax Perk, Targeting High Earners Under New Budget
UK Government Announces £150 Annual Cut to Household Energy Bills Through Levy Reforms
UK Court Hears Challenge to Ban on Palestine Action as Critics Decry Heavy-Handed Measures
Investors Rush Into UK Gilts and Sterling After Budget Eases Fiscal Concerns
UK to Raise Online Betting Taxes by £1.1 Billion Under New Budget — Firms Warn of Fallout
Lamine Yamal? The ‘Heir to Messi’ Lost to Barcelona — and the Kingdom Is in a Frenzy
Warner Music Group Drops Suit Against Suno, Launches Licensed AI-Music Deal
HP to Cut up to 6,000 Jobs Globally as It Ramps Up AI Integration
MediaWorld Sold iPad Air for €15 — Then Asked Customers to Return Them or Pay More
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer Promises ‘Full-Time’ Education for All Children as School Attendance Slips
UK Extends Sugar Tax to Sweetened Milkshakes and Lattes in 2028 Health Push
UK Government Backs £49 Billion Plan for Heathrow Third Runway and Expansion
UK Gambling Firms Report £1bn Surge in Annual Profits as Pressure Mounts for Higher Betting Taxes
UK Shares Advance Ahead of Budget as Financials and Consumer Staples Lead Gains
Domino’s UK CEO Andrew Rennie Steps Down Amid Strategic Reset
UK Economy Stalls as Reeves Faces First Budget Test
UK Economy’s Weak Start Adds Pressure on Prime Minister Starmer
UK Government Acknowledges Billionaire Exodus Amid Tax Rise Concerns
UK Budget 2025: Markets Brace as Chancellor Faces Fiscal Tightrope
UK Unveils Strategic Plan to Secure Critical Mineral Supply Chains
UK Taskforce Calls for Radical Reset of Nuclear Regulation to Cut Costs and Accelerate Build
UK Government Launches Consultation on Major Overhaul of Settlement Rules
Google Struggles to Meet AI Demand as Infrastructure, Energy and Supply-Chain Gaps Deepen
Car Parts Leader Warns Europe Faces Heavy Job Losses in ‘Darwinian’ Auto Shake-Out
×