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In short
- Solely Coinbase ran a significant crypto advert at this yr’s Tremendous Bowl, marking a retreat from 2022’s multi-company “Crypto Bowl.”
- The advert used Backstreet Boys karaoke-style lyrics as a substitute of a QR-code promo, with CEO Brian Armstrong calling it “distinctive,” whereas on-line reactions have been sharply divided.
- Specialists say the pullback displays post-crash warning, contrasting at present’s compliance-focused messaging with the celebrity-heavy crypto adverts seen earlier than the 2022 market collapse.
Crypto’s Tremendous Bowl presence has shrunk from a multi-company advertising blitz to a single change’s sing-along, with Coinbase returning to the large recreation alone this yr, because the Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots to win Tremendous Bowl LX.
4 years after Coinbase introduced its viral bouncing QR-code industrial to the “Crypto Bowl,” the change aired the one main crypto advert throughout this yr’s Tremendous Bowl broadcast—in contrast to Tremendous Bowl LVI, which featured superstar campaigns from a number of companies, together with the now-bankrupt crypto change FTX.
Singing > watching.
So we obtained tens of millions of individuals watching the Large Recreation to sing together with us.
Oh, and we put it on the world's largest LED display screen @SphereVegas. pic.twitter.com/dYqBkEy41g
— Coinbase 🛡️ (@coinbase) February 9, 2026
The one-minute spot featured karaoke-style on-screen lyrics from the Backstreet Boys’ 1997 hit “All people (Backstreet’s Again),” turning the display screen right into a coordinated sing-along slightly than a name to scan a code or declare a token reward.
"Turning 100M+ screens into karaoke, so the entire U.S. (and plenty of all over the world) can sing in unison, is an antidote to polarization and simply plain enjoyable. All people deserves financial freedom,” Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong tweeted.
Social media reactions proved divisive, with some viewers praising the nostalgia whereas others questioned the execution.
When one person tweeted, "The @coinbase advert was horrible," Coinbase responded, "In case you're speaking about it, it labored. Crypto is for everyone."
One other person shared a video of a watch get together the place attendees sang alongside to the Backstreet Boys lyrics however instantly booed when Coinbase's brand appeared on display screen.
Rethinking crypto advertising
Trade analysts say Coinbase's method displays classes discovered from the earlier cycle's aggressive advertising.
"It's an fascinating option to seize the eye of the viewers to the truth that Bitcoin is mainstream once more," Musheer Ahmed, Founder & MD of Finstep Asia, advised Decrypt. "Final yr, it was the early days of the present administration, and laws had not but modified in the direction of being optimistic for crypto. This advert in all probability needs to make that time."
Ahmed highlighted the advert's messaging technique, noting how the "Yeaah" refrain emphasised key crypto narratives: "am I Unique" for authenticity and traceability, "am I safe" for Bitcoin's safety features, and "am I for everybody" for monetary inclusion.
In the meantime, Sudhakar Lakshmanaraja, founding father of Digital South Belief, a Web3 coverage advocacy physique, questioned whether or not simplicity nonetheless works in at present's regulatory surroundings.
“Right now, governments are prioritising shopper safety, danger consciousness, and compliance, and crypto communication should mirror that shift,” Lakshmanaraja advised Decrypt, including that now affect is dependent upon trust-focused, compliance-aligned messaging, not hype.
Kadan Stadelmann, Chief Expertise Officer at Komodo Platform, defended the Tremendous Bowl funding technique regardless of the premium pricing.
"There isn’t any American occasion with extra eyeballs on it than the Tremendous Bowl. And it is smart then for firms focusing on American customers to pay the piper," he advised Decrypt. "Not spending on any conventional media apart from on that is maybe one of the best conventional media promoting technique in 2026."
Decrypt has reached out to Coinbase for extra remark.
Crypto and the Tremendous Bowl
Coinbase’s 2022 Tremendous Bowl debut advert confirmed a floating QR code that drove over 20 million visits in a minute, crashing its web site, but nonetheless generated large buzz and gained a Tremendous Clio award for artistic excellence regardless of the technical failure.
That yr's Tremendous Bowl featured a minimum of six crypto advertisers, together with FTX with a Larry David industrial, Crypto.com with LeBron James and a Matt Damon "Fortune Favors the Courageous" marketing campaign, and eToro, marking what grew to become generally known as the "Crypto Bowl."
FTX’s Tremendous Bowl advert featured David balking at FTX’s billing as a “protected and straightforward option to get into crypto”—one thing that appeared eerily prescient after the change’s November 2022 collapse triggered trade contagion, resulting in fraud convictions for Sam Bankman-Fried and different executives, and class-action lawsuits in opposition to promoters together with David, Tom Brady, and Gisele Bündchen.
