Ad spend from cryptocurrencies and digital exchanges in the U.S. in the past six months has mirrored the big swings of the crypto market, according to analysis by MediaRadar.
Crypto companies’ ad budgets nearly doubled in the first quarter of 2022 versus the previous quarter, from $59 million to $115 million, MediaRadar said.
This was primarily driven by a strong showing at the Super Bowl, with two-thirds (64%) of total Q1 spend occurring in February.
Coinbase, Crypto.com, EToro and FTX all purchased ad slots during the Super Bowl — which reportedly cost as much as $7 million for a 30-second spot. These four brands accounted for 93% of crypto ad spend through to the end of April, MediaRadar said.
A post-Super Bowl tightening of the purse strings dragged down crypto ad spend in March and April. Spend from Coinbase, Crypto.com, Etoro and FTX plummeted in March compared to February — down 98%, 71%, 70% and 68%, respectively.
By comparison, all other advertisers saw a slight 3% dip in ad spend in March compared to February.
Average monthly spend across all crypto advertisers analyzed by MediaRadar halved from $20.8 million in Q1 to $10.3 million in April.
The big swings in ad spend are testament to the volatile nature of the crypto market, which has lost more than half its value in the past six months, down to $1.3 trillion from its $3.1 trillion peak in November 2021.
MediaRadar’s analysis is based on ad spend from 200 crypto trading platforms and currencies throughout January 1 to April 30, 2022. The data spans U.S. national TV, magazines and newspapers, as well as online channels including websites, podcasts, Facebook and YouTube.
