THE CELEBRITY CRYPTO CRASH

Celebrities have cashed in on the cryptocurrency craze with high-profile endorsements and business partnerships. But fans who followed the celebrities’ advice have seen their hard-earned money disappear as air has rushed out of the digital currency balloon. The losses, calculated by Bloomberg News, have devasted investor portfolios. 

Actor Matt Damon proclaimed, “Fortune favors the brave,” in his TV ads for cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com that premiered in late October of 2021 and ran during the Super Bowl. Nine months later, the price of the most widely-traded cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has plunged more than 60 percent. 

Actress Reese Witherspoon’s media company formed a partnership to promote World of Women non-fungible digital tokens (NFTs). Since then, the World of Women NFTs have lost more than ¾ers of their value.

Boxer Mike Tyson lent his name to Tyson-branded collection of NFTs in August of 2021. Since their debut, the average price of Tyson’s NFTs have dropped more than 95 percent. Rapper French Montana also created an NFT sneaker collection in September 2021. The NFTs have lost 90 percent of their value.

 Quarterback Tom Brady partnered with crypto exchange FTX. In TV ads he asked, “I’m getting into crypto with FTX. You in?” His wife model Gisele Bundchen also appeared in some of the ads. Since the ads premiered in June of 2021, Bitcoin has fallen 35 percent.

Former basketball star Paul Pierce tweeted in May of 2021 that he had made more money from the EthereumMax digital currency in a month than in a year working as a broadcaster for ESPN. Since that tweet, EthereumMax has plunged 98 percent. Angry investors are now suing Pierce, as well as socialite Kim Kardashian and boxer Floyd Mayweather for promoting digital coins.

Billionaire investor Mark Cuban promoted his plan to profit through the TITAN digital token in June 2021. The token has since lost 99 percent of its value. In a statement to Bloomberg News, Cuban acknowledged his poor investment, admitting, “it’s really on me for being lazy.”