Advertisements for several crypto exchanges vied for the spotlight in this year’s Super Bowl, including one for Crypto.com that aired during the showcase halftime break.

Fast facts

• Following a widely publicized ad featuring Matt Damon, Singapore-based Crypto.com’s new ad featured basketball star LeBron James talking to his younger self in 2003 insinuating the creation and growth of crypto during that time is remarkable.
  

• The Super Bowl halftime break is one of the most valuable advertising times on television, with average cost for a 30-second slot estimated at US$6.5 million this year.
  

• The Bahamas-based FTX’s ad featured Seinfeld co-creator Larry David downplaying the importance of cryptocurrency after playing characters throughout history who have missed the point of landmark inventions.
  

• U.S.-based Coinbase’s ad featured a QR code floating about the screen similar to the classic retro DVD screen saver, but users reported that the QR link was broken, which Coinbase claims was due to popularity.

• Crypto advertising in sports has hit the big leagues in the past 12 months with several major sponsorships announced, including the renaming of Los Angeles’s famed Staples Center to Crypto.com Arena last December for US$700 million.