Fortune Favors the Brave - One Year Later
Matt Damon introduced many to the world of crypto in October of 2021...
Fortune favors the brave
- Matt Damon, crypto.com ad
And why not? Crypto was soaring with its most well known coin, Bitcoin (BTC), worth over $60K when the ad first released and on its way to nearly $70K shortly after. But then...
Did Mr. Damon jinx us all?
Here we sit one year later and BTC has been stuck around $20K. Ethereum, after the much ballyhooed "Merge", has lost nearly two-thirds of its value as well during that time. We have out of control inflation throughout the world and Russia bullying Ukraine and threatening to use nuclear bombs since things aren't going their way. Supply shortages and a host of bad macroeconomic news seems to be norm these days.
"How do you like them apples?"
- Will Hunting played by Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting
Honestly, these apples taste like $^!+ Matt... That may be especially true if you really wanted one of those shiny metal debit cards from crypto.com that were all the rage at the time with amazing rewards simply by holding their Cronos (CRO) token. You know the one that was heading for a dollar each and is now worth around a dime.
In all fairness, our boy Matt wasn't the only one now was he...
Tom Brady
Kim Kardashian
Steph Curry
Floyd Mayweather
DJ Kahled
Larry David
The list goes on-and-on. Philadelphia 76er Center Joel Embiid did a crypto.com commercial earlier this year and nobody seems to remember that one.
Remember the last Super Bowl? Maybe you already forgot who played in it but you remember all those crypto ads don't you? In the "Crypto Bowl" as some called it a 30-second ad cost upwards of $7 million and crypto companies couldn't spend their marketing dollars fast enough.
LeBron James, the biggest NBA star of them all, starred in one of those commercials but we don't seem to hold him in any disregard despite the fact that he plays in the Crypto.com Arena for the Lakers on top of that ad. Those naming rights cost crypto.com a cool $700 million in the astonishing sponsorship deal. Ahh, the good times!
It wasn't just ads either. Paris Hilton shared on twitter her two dogs, Ether and Crypto, to her 17 million followers. Mila Kunis, Aaron Rodgers, Gwyneth Paltrow and Reese Witherspoon all did their fair share to push digital currencies in the last 12 months.
But then there is Matt Damon...
Was it his smugness? Tough to go back and see it now since crypto.com has set the add on YouTube to private. No matter, we all remember the lines.
History is filled with almosts — those who almost adventured … who almost achieved … but ultimately, for them it proved to be too much. Then there are others: The ones who embrace the moment and commit. And in these moments of truth, these men and women, these mere mortals, just like you and me … as they peer over the edge, they calm their minds and steel their nerves with four simple words that have been whispered by the intrepid since the time of the Romans: “Fortune favors the brave.”
Doesn't it just make you cringe a little to even read those lines. Before you do, admit it. Admit that you were pretty excited when you first saw the ad. Damn straight - we are bold. Even better, we are "brave". Or so we crypto enthusiast thought... Widespread adoption - it is right around the corner.
A year later and we are, perhaps, just a little meeker. Not so brave any more and certainly not so boisterous when talking about our passion to non-crypto people. Crypto adoption will just have to be put on hold for awhile.
Thank you Matt Damon!
These mere mortals, just like you and me, as they peer over the edge, they calm their minds and steel their nerves with four simple words that have been whispered by the intrepid since the time of the Romans: Fortune favors the brave
You remember this part, when the famous actor from the Martian utters them while looking out from a spacecraft onto the surface of the red planet. You know, the one that Dogecoin lover Elon Musk is trying to get us to on his SpaceX rockets. Yes, even Elon seems to get a pass from this crypto bloodbath we have all been experiencing.
I don't want to come off as arrogant here, but I'm the greatest botanist on this planet!
- Mark Watney played by Matt Damon in The Martian
Well Matt, you do kind of come off a little arrogant and you are certainly a better botanist than a financial planner. You were pretty good growing potatoes out of all that excrement, however, now you have really become the face of this ugly bear market. So many new people came into crypto after the actor made it seem as if we were stupid if we didn't invest in crypto. Well who looks stupid now?
It just isn't crypto investors who have suffered either as crypto.com has recently laid off about 40% of their workforce - ouch! Crypto.com also backed out of a $495 million sponsorship deal with the UEFA Champions League - opps. The hits just keep on coming...
Hey Matt, why don't you stick to movies and lay off the ads please!
