Coinbase to Air Multiple Ads on CBS’s Face the Nation, Wants to Reach Policymakers and DC Insiders

Coinbase launched a nationwide advertising campaign on Sunday, commencing in Washington, DC, with a spot on CBS’s Face the Nation. A representative from Coinbase told Blockworks that the campaign aims to influence policymakers in the nation’s capital on the importance of cryptocurrency.

In the nearly two minute, black and white ad, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong argues that while crypto is in its “early days,” it will update our financial systems and “create more economic freedom in the world.”

Armstrong announced the campaign via Twitter. He said that there will be four ads total, with the first one having aired Sunday. Coinbase will premier subsequent ads each weekend on Face the Nation, according to the representative.

There’s lots “of policy work to do to ensure America isn’t left behind,” Armstrong tweeted. 

Armstrong highlighted two of crypto’s existing use cases in an attempt to reach a new audience with a message of practicality.

One example he mentioned was using crypto to send money to family members residing in other countries. Coinbase said in April that Americans spend over $12 billion a year in fees when sending remittances and argued that sending money via bitcoin or ethereum would be dramatically cheaper.

Armstrong also said crypto “can be a new way for artists to get paid and have a direct relationship with their fans.”

With music streaming giant Spotify only paying $0.003 and $0.005 per stream, according to a 2020 Business Insider piece, artists have been looking for ways to better monetize their craft. Selling music as NFTs and NFT gating seem to be avenues artists and Web3 creators are beginning to go down. 

Armstrong finished the ad by hinting at the regulatory environment in the US, which Coinbase has been fighting for years. In an April mandamus petition, Coinbase demanded the SEC provide clear guidelines on which digital assets are securities. The SEC denied the action, saying the agency will take as much time as it needs and that Coinbase has no right to mandamus. 

Coinbase filed another writ of mandamus in response to the SEC Tuesday.

“What I fear is that we’re going to be sitting here in five or 10 years, and we’re going to come back to crypto and think about it like we did with 5G or semiconductors, and say, ‘Wow, now it’s a matter of national security that we get it brought back on shore,’” Armstrong said.

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