Crypto Sector Expected to Spend Over $160M on Sports Sponsorships in ’22

At this week’s Super Bowl, expect to see a lot of ads for cryptocurrency.

As The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday (Feb. 6), numerous crypto exchanges have been paying top dollar to run ads during the sporting event between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals.

Coinbase is going to run one, according to an anonymous source, and so will FTX and Crypto.com, while Bitbuy, a Canadian exchange, will have one during that country’s broadcast.

Advertising during the Super Bowl is still the most expensive advertising slots on TV, with thirty seconds of NBC airtime costing up to $7 million. As such, the ads often show off industries that have the extra cash to throw around.

“It’s a way to get our name out there,” said FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. “In terms of venues to do that, it’s hard to find a higher-profile one than this.”

Crypto companies have been doing well for themselves in recent years, with venture capital firms putting nearly $30 billion put into the sector last year and a big crypto rally helping them along.

This year, the industry is spending more than airlines, quick-service restaurants and wine and spirits companies, according to IEG, a sponsorship consulting firm, which said industry spending on sports sponsorships could amount to over $160 million for North American companies.

In other news related to both the Super Bowl and digital innovations, non-fungible token (NFT) platform Autograph, founded in July by Tom Brady, has raised $170 million in a Series B funding round.

Read more: Tom Brady’s NFT Startup Autograph Snags $170M in Series B Funding

Andreessen Horowitz and Kleiner Perkins led the fundraising effort, which also saw participation from Lightspeed Venture partner Nicole Quinn and Katie Haun’s new firm.

In addition, Haun will join as a board member, as will Andreessen Horowitz partners Arianna Simpson and Chris Dixon, and Kleiner Perkins partner Ilya Fushman.