London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 08, 2026

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
Rare Early Copy of US Declaration of Independence Found in British Archive
Cornish Language Revival Gains Momentum Through Schools and Community Programs
UK Authorities Face Criticism Over Prisoner Early Release Safeguards
Clacton By-Election Set After Nigel Farage Resigns Seat to Trigger Contest
Government Agencies Review Long-Term Fiscal Risks from Aging Population and Low Productivity
UK Heatwaves Expose Pressure on Public Transport and Housing Infrastructure
UK Government Prepares Welfare Review Amid Debate Over Personal Independence Payment Reform
UK Government Expands Rapid Endometriosis Testing Across NHS Services
Vistry Group Issues Profit Warning as UK Housing Market Faces Continued Pressure
Virgin Media Receives Record Twenty-Eight Million Pound Fine Over Contract Cancellation Failures
Office for Budget Responsibility Warns UK Public Finances Face Long-Term Pressure
UK Watchdog Warns Regional Income Gap Has Barely Narrowed in Three Decades
IMF Raises United Kingdom Growth Forecast as Inflation and Energy Pressures Ease
UK Government Launches Regulatory Reform Bill to Speed Up Commercialization of Innovation
Prince Harry Loses Privacy Lawsuit Against Daily Mail Publisher After High Court Rejects Claims
Federal Financial Framework Shifts as Treasury Launches Universal Savings Program for Minors
Jet2 Reports Strong Summer Travel Demand as Bookings Rise Seven Percent
Prince Harry Loses High Court Privacy Case Against Daily Mail Publisher
British Universities Warn Against Potential European Union Tuition Fee Changes
Heal Fertility Clinic Investigated After Embryo Biopsy Sample Mix-Up
Resolution Foundation Warns Regional Income Divide Has Barely Improved Since 1997
British Markets Remain Cautious as Middle East Tensions Rise and Government Transition Nears
Andy Burnham Poised to Become United Kingdom Prime Minister in Expected Political Transition
Nigel Farage Resigns as Member of Parliament Ahead of By-Election Amid Funding Investigation
Trump Declares Iran Ceasefire Over After Renewed Attacks on United States Bases
French Court Allows Le Pen to Run for Presidency, but with an Electronic Tag: "I Will Appeal, and I Will Run"
$1.4 Trillion: The Lawsuit That Could Crush Meta
Europe's Growing Struggle with Extreme Heat and Air Conditioning
UK Daily Briefing: Legal Developments and Social Issues
Political Turmoil and Rising Costs
Anthropic Reengineers Agentic Architecture to Shift Autonomous Workplace Automation to the Cloud
Logic Flaw in Windows 11 Permission Architecture Silently Consumes Hundreds of Gigabytes of Local Storage
Apple Advances Late-Stage Operating Systems with Fourth Beta Deployments
Global Crisis Alert: Escalating Middle East Tensions and UK Political Upheaval
UK Parliament Pushes for Greater Domestic Control Over Critical Technologies
UK Parliament Warns Trade Fair and Exhibition Industry Is Losing Global Competitiveness
Police Launch Murder Investigation After Mother and Two Children Found Dead Near Bedford
British Chambers of Commerce Survey Shows Business Confidence Falls to Post-Pandemic Low
UK Parliament Report Warns Britain Risks Falling Behind in Artificial Intelligence Sovereignty
Office for Budget Responsibility Warns United Kingdom Faces Long-Term Fiscal Pressures
Nigel Farage Resigns as Member of Parliament Amid Financial Scrutiny and Triggers By-Election
Deep Purple Has Released Its Best Album in Decades
UK MPs Criticise Student Loan System as Potentially Mis-Sold to Millions of Borrowers
Policy Groups Propose Bank of England-Backed Solar Loan Scheme for Millions of Homes
UK Health Agency Issues Amber Heat Alerts Across Six Regions as Temperatures Rise
Royal Air Force F-35 Jets Conduct First High North Air Policing Missions From Aircraft Carrier
Major UK Companies Join Government Cybersecurity Pledge Amid Rising Digital Threats
UK Sanctions Russian Operatives Linked to Chemical Weapons Programmes and Poisoning Cases
UK Government Expands Free Breakfast Clubs and Limits School Uniform Costs
UK Water Companies Face Tougher Penalties Under New Environmental Enforcement Rules
×