Following the FTX scandal and wider market downturn, crypto companies are set for a muted showing during this year’s Super Bowl.

Crypto firms marked last year’s Super Bowl with high-profile advertising campaigns, signaling the arrival of digital assets in the mainstream.

Coinbase, FTX, Crypto.com, and eToro, although not exclusively crypto-focused, all stumped up the minimum $6.5 million for advertising slots during the half-time interval. Binance opted to run ads around the game rather than during the premium slot.

Pundits saw the showing as a milestone moment for the nascent digital asset industry. More so, as months prior, the total market cap had reached an all-time high of $3 trillion, sparking curiosity among normies.

However, due to a multitude of factors, including the start of the Russian-Ukraine conflict, the beginning of the inflation spike, and risk-on uncertainty, the spending failed to bring about the expected “massive influx” of new users.

Since then, a series of scandals and bankruptcies, most notably the FTX saga, have rocked the space, triggering a change of tack from crypto firms.

(By Samuel Wan)