Coinbase really went there with its Super Bowl ad.
What happened: Coinbase — the cryptocurrency trading platform — released an ad during the Super Bowl that featured a QR code bouncing around the screen, a callback to the old DVD pause screens that showed the DVD logo bouncing around the frames of the television screen.
- The QR code took users to Coinbase’s website.
- The company offered new users $15 in bitcoin for anyone who joined Coinbase by Feb. 15.
Yes, but: The Coinbase app crashed during the Super Bowl because of the high influx of users, The Verge reports.
- Indeed, I tested out the QR code during the Super Bowl. The app crashed immediately after reaching the main screen.
Between the lines: Coinbase’s stock dropped 1.7% to $191.26 at 6:23 a.m. in premarket trading, according to Barron’s.
- “It’s possible that shares are reacting to the company’s inability to handle that much traffic,” per Barron’s. “On the other hand, Coinbase seemed to have gotten what it paid for with the advertisement.”
The bigger picture: Cryptocurrency made a major impact at the Super Bowl, per USA Today.
- Both FTX and Crypto.com had ads during the Super Bowl.
- The Crypto.com ad had LeBron James speaking with a CGI version of young LeBron James.