Coinbase experienced a surge in traffic following an ad during the Super Bowl on Feb 13. As a result, the exchange had to throttle traffic for a few minutes.
Coinbase’s Chief Product Officer Surojit Chatterjee, on Feb 14, revealed that the exchange had to throttle web traffic for a few minutes. The reason it appears is because of advertisements played during the Super Bowl. The ad had a QR code that took users to the Coinbase platform and told them that new users would receive $15 in Bitcoin.
The major sporting event had multiple crypto ads during the event, of which one was related to Coinbase. The Super Bowl was noted for having a high number of crypto ads, and clearly, it has worked in attracting attention. Authorities have been wary of crypto ads, fearing that they might result in losses for uninformed investors.
One of these ads even had comedian Larry David. Crypto companies that purchased air time include FTX Trading and Crypto.com, and it’s not surprising that they would, given that the viewership for the event is approximately 100 million. The total cost for these ads would have numbered in the tens of millions, as each 30-second ad costs $6.5 million.
The response to these crypto ads from the public has been mixed. Some herald it as a sign of the crypto market being here to stay, while others believe it could be another fad, like dot-com companies in the past.
But the heavy traffic flow from the Coinbase ad hints that crypto would not have the same fate as those dot-com companies. This is something regulators will take note of, as crypto breaks into the public consciousness.
Crypto ads in the corssfire
Crypto ads have been the target of regulators’ ire for some time now. Authorities from countries across the world have warned investors about crypto ads and their claims. The Irish advertising authority in January 2022 revealed that it had received a growing number of complaints related to such ads.
Spain has also taken action against crypto ads, demanding risk warnings, while Singapore’s Monetary Authority restricted crypto ads from the general public.
Most of these actions have taken place this year, and it points to the increasing regulatory oversight of the crypto market. Lawmakers and securities agencies are mostly concerned with an inadequate amount of warning in these ads, believing that they encourage investment by promising high returns. With regulation being a key topic in 2022, the nature of crypto ads may change greatly going forward.
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