- Mason Versluis has been investing in crypto since 2017, and he’s mostly a long-term holder.
- He has observed crypto price action during major events and says there’s often movement.
- During the Super Bowl, when crypto ads run, he expects to see a surge in the price of some coins.
The Super Bowl isn’t something every crypto investor would be interested in. But this year, the slogan “crypto bowl” is making its rounds online.
After a banner year for the crypto industry, major crypto exchanges have snagged ad space during the main event on Sunday.
For Mason Versluis, a crypto investor since 2017 who now educates others on TikTok, where he has over 1.1 million followers, this likely means
volatility
during the Super Bowl. But unless you’re a seasoned trader, you might be left holding the bag.
Versluis has kept a close eye on price action, especially during bull markets and major events that lead to crypto headlines.
When Tesla CEO Elon Musk began mentioning dogecoin on the May 8 episode of “Saturday Night Live”, he watched the token’s one-minute chart. He recalled increased volatility at every mention of the crypto. And by the end of the episode, it was down nearly 30%.
A week before the episode, amid speculation that Musk would mention the token, dogecoin saw its price climb from about $0.30 to an all-time high of $0.73 on May 8. The day after, the crypto continued to plunge, reaching $0.32 by the end of the month.
While it might have come as a surprise to some, anyone who has been investing in crypto for a while likely knows the term, “buy the rumor, sell the news.” This means you have to be ahead of the wave.
Experienced crypto traders know that by the time crypto makes headlines, it’s time to sell.
That’s because they anticipate newbies flooding the market and pushing the price up. Those who have been holding their positions for a while will take advantage of this pump and pull profits in anticipation that others will do the same.
Versluis is anticipating that similar price action will take place during the Super Bowl. For experienced traders, these are perfect opportunities for a swing trade, he said.
But if you haven’t invested in crypto before, he recommended staying on the sidelines and simply observing how the price action is affected by Super Bowl ads. Consider that a dogecoin owner who bought at its peak during the “SNL” episode would have been down 56% by the end of that month and down 78% as of Wednesday.
Four cryptos that could see a price surge
There are four main cryptos Versluis said could see some massive gains.
The first one is CRO, the native token for Crypto.com. This exchange has been a bull when it comes to advertising campaigns that are aimed at a general audience.
The actor Matt Damon has been one of the main faces for the Crypto.com ads that run across social-media platforms like TikTok. The Staples Center was also renamed the Crypto.com Arena in December. Now Crypto.com has purchased a Super Bowl ad.
This will likely pique the interest of many newbies who will sign up to the exchange, potentially driving up its crypto’s value, Versluis said.
He has been a long-term investor in CRO but told Insider he substantially added to this position because of the ad. He’s also observing repetitive comments made by his TikTok followers, many of whom are also anticipating that CRO could rise.
He said he added more CRO on February 3, but he plans on selling the new units once he sees the price begin to spike in or around when the ad airs at the Super Bowl.
But he noted that even without a blow-up ad, the amount of speculation already coming from crypto enthusiasts including himself could lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy. In the past four days, CRO’s price has increased by about 14%.
The second contender is Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX crypto exchange, which will also run Super Bowl ads. Its coin is FTT.
Versluis doesn’t hold FTT because he is more focused on cryptos tied to exchanges he actively uses.
Coinbase is the third contender that is also dropping Super Bowl ads.
The publicly traded company does not have a coin. But one thing Versluis noted was Coinbase’s promotion of shiba inu. The exchange has a major promo for shiba inu (SHIB) at the top of its homepage after users sign up, noting that it’s available to trade. This could cause many newcomers to purchase the crypto when first signing up.
He also noted that Coinbase has a limited number of cryptos its users can access. This means any crypto on that exchange could see a price pump, especially those trading below $1, Versluis said, as first-time investors tend to view large-cap crypto as being too expensive.
One exchange that is already warning about the risks of buying crypto based on TV ads and celebrity endorsements is Binance. This platform has sent out a warning to Super Bowl onlookers about buying into the hype.
In a Binance tweet, the Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler told people to “trust themselves” and “do your own research.” Versluis anticipates that this could still pump Binance’s BNB token. And Versluis said the Super Bowl could lead to a pump for most exchange coins, as new users sign up for a venue of their choice.
Finally, you’ll want to keep an eye out for any surprise ads coming from the crypto sector. A sudden mention of a coin or project could send its digital asset soaring — but only for a moment.
Versluis said if you play your hand at the trade, you’ll want to be in and out within a trading day.