This year’s Super Bowl attracted the attention of 127.7 million viewers, but unlike three years ago, crypto ads were missing in action.
In 2022, the Super Bowl was flooded with high-profile crypto ads from Coinbase, America’s largest crypto exchange; Crypto.com, which rebranded Los Angeles’ Staples Center for $700 million and recently hosted the 2025 Grammy Awards; the Israel-based crypto exchange eToro; and FTX, which later collapsed in what was called “one of the biggest financial frauds in American history.”
“The absence of crypto-related ads at the Super Bowl this year is an unsurprising indication of the market recalibrating after the hype of previous years,” Alan Vey, founder of the blockchain firm Aventus, told TheStreet Crypto. “Given recent regulatory uncertainties and a tighter economic climate, many blockchain and crypto firms are shifting resources to building real-world applications rather than headline-grabbing campaigns.”
Moreover, with artificial intelligence (AI) dominating headlines in 2025, Vey told TheStreet Crypto that it was no surprise to see AI ads “front and center” at the Super Bowl. Large corporations like Google, Meta, Salesforce, and OpenAI rolled out AI-centric ads at this year’s event, featuring Hollywood celebrities such as Matthew McConaughey in a Salesforce spot on “how AI was meant to be” and Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, and Kris Jenner wearing Meta AI glasses.
“AI is the popular new kid on the block, stealing the limelight with bigger ad spends — but that doesn’t mean momentum behind crypto has stalled,” Vey explained. “The industry is going through an evolution, maturing to focus on long-term sustainable growth, instead of short-lived marketing pushes.”
Other analysts, however, are cautious about framing this as a win for the AI industry over crypto. “This doesn’t signal AI’s triumph over crypto,” Utkarsh Ahuja, Founder of Moon Pursuit Capital, told TheStreet Crypto. “It’s no coincidence that David Sacks, the newly-appointed AI and Crypto Czar, oversees both domains — these technologies are not merely coexisting but converging, forging new frontiers together,” Ahuja said.
Importantly, the $3.16 trillion digital asset industry has been shifting its focus to Wall Street, making retail adoption — already reaching nearly a third of American adults — less of a priority, according to some in the industry.
“Crypto’s focus for 2025 is on institutional adoption,” Eli Cohen, General Counsel at Centrifuge, told TheStreet Crypto. “Retail is less important, so no need for splashy expensive ads.”
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