““Like an idiot, I did it.”“
Larry David addressed his 2022 commercial for the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, describing how he has “never been wrong” about a series of famous inventions throughout history.
During a red carpet event this week for the 12th season of his HBO show Curb Your Enthusiasm, David said a group of his friends told him it was cool to do a cryptocurrency ad at the time, and “like, idiot, I did it. “
The commercial was produced by FTX, which was started by Sam Bankman Fried. At the time, Bankman Fred was a prominent leader in the cryptocurrency space, but in 2023 he was convicted of fraud. The ad debuted during the 2022 Super Bowl alongside cryptocurrency ads by competitors Crypto.com and Coinbase.
David continued to express his remorse for his involvement in advertising by filing a class action lawsuit against him and other FTX promoters that occurred after the exchange's bankruptcy.
From the archives (October 2022): Matt Damon's “Fortune Favors the Brave” ad is the first. Here's how much you would have lost if you bought cryptocurrencies next.
When the FTX ad aired, the good times in the cryptocurrency industry, especially FTX, were rolling in. CEO Bankman Fried was a billionaire, and the Super Bowl saw numerous cryptocurrency ads, featuring celebrities from Matt Damon to Steph Curry, and also determined the market capitalization of cryptocurrency companies like Coinbase COIN,
And Robin Hood Hood,
It was exploding.
The total market cap of all cryptocurrencies was nearly $3 trillion during parts of 2021, but now stands at around $1.6 trillion.
Continue reading: Bitcoin fell 20% in the wake of the emergence of a new breed of ETFs. Why are prices still hitting records this year?
