Bitcoin Over $42K After Super Bowl of Crypto Ads (and Coinbase Outage)

The latest moves in crypto markets, in context

February 14, 2022

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Good morning, and welcome to First Mover. Here's what's happening this morning:

Market Moves: Bitcoin higher for the first time in five days, despite crypto Super Bowl ads leading to Coinbase crash.
Also: Bitcoin network's hashrate hits new all-time high.

And check out the CoinDesk TV show "First Mover," hosted by Christine Lee, Emily Parker and Lawrence Lewitinn at 9:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern time. Today's show will feature guests:

Mark Clerkin, head of trading, CoinList
Paul Hiebert, consumer goods reporter, Adweek
James Lawrence, co-founder, Engiven
Chris Knierim, 2018 Olympic bronze medalist, figure skating

After First Mover, watch The Hash at noon as CDTV continues its post-Super Bowl ad coverage with special guest Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of the FTX crypto exchange, with the inside scoop on the company's ad with Larry David.

Today's newsletter was edited by Bradley Keoun and produced by Parikshit Mishra.

Market Moves

Bitcoin (BTC) was trading higher for the first time in five days as analysts weighed the possible boost to crypto from a flurry of Super Bowl ads that ran Sunday against the continuing tensions between Russia and the U.S. over Ukraine.

The price was around $42,600 as of press time. Last week's report showing U.S. inflation at a four-decade high appears to be, well, last week's news. The market traded lower after speculation that surging consumer prices could force the Federal Reserve to get more hawkish in trying to tamp down economic pressures, which in turn could exert a downward influence on prices for assets deemed risky, from bitcoin to stocks.

"With inflation data likely now baked in, investors will be watching for developments in Eastern Europe," Simon Peters, market analyst for the crypto-enabled trading platform eToro, wrote Monday in an email.

This year for the first time, Super Bowl viewers were shown ads from a number of crypto companies. Along with Coinbase, crypto exchanges FTX and Crypto.com and eToro all appeared during commercial breaks. FTX's ad featured comedian Larry David while Crypto.com's starred NBA legend LeBron James.

Coinbase's ad, which cost as much as $14 million, featured a QR code bouncing around a black screen for its full 60 seconds.

But the exchange was forced into an outage after a surge in traffic that Chief Product Officer Surojit Chatterjee described in a tweet as "more traffic than ... ever encountered."

Bitcoin's hashrate – a measure of how much computational power is being applied to secure the blockchain network – surged to a new all-time high over the weekend.

Full Story: Bitcoin Holds Above $41K as Hashrate Surged to All-Time Highs

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Crypto Prices

Bitcoin (BTC)

See the latest price here

Ether (ETH)

See the latest price here

The following are the biggest movers in the CoinDesk 20 digital assets over the past 24 hours:

Biggest Gainers:

There are no gainers in CoinDesk 20 today.

Biggest Losers:

Asset	Ticker	Returns	Sector
Ethereum Classic	ETC	−6.2%	Smart Contract Platform
Polygon	MATIC	−5.9%	Smart Contract Platform
Algorand	ALGO	−5.3%	Smart Contract Platform

Sector classifications are provided via the Digital Asset Classification Standard (DACS), developed by CoinDesk Indices to provide a reliable, comprehensive, and standardized classification system for digital assets. The CoinDesk 20 is a ranking of the largest digital assets by volume on trusted exchanges.

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Latest Headlines

The OGs of NFTs get animated with the biggest stars from around the world in this entertaining new series from CoinDesk TV. Tune in Tuesdays in February at 4 p.m. ET.

ICYMI

In case you missed it, here are the most recent episodes of "First Mover" on CoinDesk TV:

Can You Trust the Celebrity Crypto Endorsements at the Super Bowl This Year? MATIC Token Surges as Polygon Raises $450M to Support Web 3 Plans

"First Mover" hosts speak to CoinDesk columnist David Morris for his views on crypto firms like FTX and Crypto.com becoming major advertising players at this year's Super Bowl. Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal shares details behind the firm's latest raise that allow it to build Web 3 applications and invest in zero-knowledge technology. Plus, Kareem Sadek of KPMG Canada on the firm's decision to add crypto to its balance sheet.

Disclaimer: The information presented in this message is intended as a news item that provides a brief summary of various events and developments that affect, or that might in the future affect, the value of one or more of the cryptocurrencies described above. The information contained in this message, and any information liked through the items contained herein, is not intended to provide sufficient information to form the basis for an investment decision. The information presented herein is accurate only as of its date, and it was not prepared by a research analyst or other investment professional. You should seek additional information regarding the merits and risks of investing in any cryptocurrency before deciding to purchase or sell any such instruments.