Coinbase and Grayscale unveil new TV spots in time for Bitcoin halving 

New crypto ads target viewers of the NBA and NHL playoffs as the new BTC supply is set to slow

article-image

Boston Celtics SF Jayson Tatum | Erik Drost/"Jason Tatum" (CC license)

share

New television spots by crypto stalwarts Coinbase and Grayscale are set to air during NBA and NHL playoff games, the companies told Blockworks.

The commercials come around the highly anticipated bitcoin halving — slated to occur on April 19 or 20 — when per-block mining rewards are set to drop from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.  

The Coinbase commercial, posted on X Monday, shows a spotlighted motorbike in a warehouse-type setting apparently used for pizza deliveries.  

“Over time, your money gets you less,” a voice states. “Does bitcoin?” 

Loading Tweet..

The commercial shows how much pizza a person could have bought with one bitcoin in 2012, as one box appears on the back of the bike. A stack of boxes is added to show how much 1 BTC was worth in 2016. 

Read more: This Bitcoin halving will be different — the institutions are here

By 2020, the flood of boxes knocks over the bike. Cardboard rains down further to quantify the 2024 value of a bitcoin in pizza terms. 

“Roughly every four years, the future supply of bitcoin is reduced,” the spot states. “So historically, you get more. Not less.”  

The ad is set to start airing Wednesday on TNT, ESPN and ABC during NBA playoff games, a Coinbase spokesperson told Blockworks. It will run through April 22. 

Grayscale Investments’ ad, published to YouTube on Monday, touts the company’s standing as the world’s largest crypto asset manager. The firm’s Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC) holds roughly $20 billion in assets under management despite consistent net outflows in recent months.   

“Sometimes investing feels like you’re going at it alone, especially when it comes to adding crypto to your portfolio,” the ad states as a man tries to row a racing boat and hang a painting by himself. “But it doesn’t have to be that way.”

It ends with the tagline: “Crypto investing begins here.”

In addition to appearing online, the Grayscale spot will air on CNBC, CNN, Golf Network, News Nation and NHL Network, a spokesperson told Blockworks — including during the NHL playoffs.

The upcoming crypto commercials during popular sporting events come after companies in the segment opted not to advertise during the Super Bowl in February.

Read more: Crypto players skip Super Bowl ads, plot other marketing opportunities

Coinbase is not new to getting out its message during the NBA playoffs, launching a campaign focused on updating the financial system for last year’s postseason games. 

The crypto exchange was one of the crypto companies to advertise during the 2022 Super Bowl. It more recently ran a television spot in February featuring a sad Abraham Lincoln on a penny, and the tagline: “Money is happier when it’s digital.”

Grayscale ads have appeared in various airports and train stations for years.


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.

Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

An overview of the Base Ecosystem, with a focus on market leaders.

article-image

Although bitcoin hitting $120k by year’s end is looking unlikely

article-image

About 270 million HYPE has been claimed, valued around $7.6 billion

article-image

Stanford professors David Mazières and Dan Boneh will lead the lab alongside a cohort of graduate student researchers

article-image

With more companies holding BTC, bitcoin yielding strategies could become “a new corporate finance norm,” CoinShares posed

article-image

The proposal comes after Polygon governance considered a controversial use of bridged liquidity for yield

article-image

Can the community balance its decentralized ethos with the need for inclusivity and constructive debate?