The 2022 Super Bowl was inundated with ads from cryptocurrency companies, so much so that it became known as the “Crypto Bowl.” However, following a string of unfortunate events, including the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, no crypto company will air ads in this year’s Super Bowl game.

Crypto is Almost Out of Super Bowl This Year

Mark Evans, executive vice president of ad sales for Fox Sports, has revealed that there will be no representation for crypto companies at the upcoming Super Bowl. “There’s zero representation in that category on the day at all,” he said in an interview with the Associated Press.

Evans noted that two crypto companies had commercials “booked and done,” and two others were “on the one-yard line.” However, all of them backed out of the deals following the collapse of FTX, once the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world that filed for bankruptcy in November last year.

It is worth noting that Web3 gaming company Limit Break has announced that it is set to advertise the big game’s first commercial break. According to an Adage report, the crypto company will feature a QR code that users can scan and take their chance of winning one of its “Dragon” series NFTs.

Limit Break is a blockchain-based game developer working on its forthcoming online fantasy mobile game, DigiDaigaku. The game, founded on a blockchain variation of the “free-to-play” model, will release later this year. The 30-second ad is expected to build excitement around the game.

The Super Bowl, the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL), is one of the most-viewed sports events in the world. The game was watched by 99.18 million viewers in the United States last year, compared to 91.6 million people in 2021. The most watched Super Bowl in history was in 2015, which attracted a record 114.44 million viewers.

This massive audience gives the Super Bowl a special marketing status, with companies willing to pay millions for a 30-second ad slot. For instance, an undisclosed number of 30-second spots fetched a whopping $7 million last year.

Crypto Advertising Dries Up Following 2022 Meltdown

Crypto companies went full force on advertising in early 2022 amid skyrocketing crypto prices. Last year’s Super Bowl became known as the “Crypto Bowl” after several major crypto companies, including now-defunct FTX, Coinbase, Crypto.com, and eToro, ran splashy commercials.

Coinbase, Crypto.com, eToro, and FTX spent a combined $54 million just on their Super Bowl ads. Coinbase and FTX also gave away millions worth of crypto as part of a promotion offering for new users.

The spending spree didn’t end there. Some major crypto exchanges like FTX landed more than a dozen partnerships, including arena sponsorships and celebrity endorsements. Another crypto platform Crypto.com said in late 2021 it was committing $100 million to an ad campaign that would feature Matt Damon and run across 20 countries.

However, the collapse of FTX and the subsequent market downturn forced crypto companies to reconsider their advertising strategies.

Crypto-related brands spent a whopping $223 million on ads in the US through October of 2022, up 150% from $89 million for all of last year, according to MediaRadar. However, top cryptocurrency advertisers spent just $35 million on ads during Q3, an 80% drop from the first quarter of 2022.

Furthermore, almost all major crypto exchanges have announced layoffs to trim costs. Coinbase, Crypto.com, and most recently, Gemini have slimmed their rosters amid dwindling trading volume and shrinking income.

This article originally appeared on The Tokenist

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