In 2017 cryptocurrencies have gained quite a bit of attention. Bitcoin Had spiked from nearly $1000 per coin to nearly $20,000. Ethereum has also entered public consciousness, as it rose from $10 to $800 in just a year.
The creation of Ethereum had spawned many other unique tokens, via its smart contract functionality. These are known as ERC20 tokens as they are based on the Ethereum blockchain.
Many new tokens have signed celebrities as advisors or partners to their project as a form of advertising purposes. Paragon have listed the rapper “The Game” as an advisor, Sirin labs have signed the soccer star Lionel Messi as a brand advisor, and 90’s boxing legend Evander Holyfield has teamed up with Bitshares, to name a few.
The use of celebrities is nothing new in the world of advertising. The first forms of celebrity advertising started in the 18th century in the form of royal endorsements and it has been with us ever since. Nearly every sort of product today has a celebrity endorsement, from basketball players endorsing shoes to Hollywood actors recommending cars.
The reason why new cryptocurrencies use celebrity endorsements is no different than any other business, they want to bring attention to their business. Usually cryptocurrencies that use endorsements are before or undergoing an ICO (initial coin offering) and want to increase public expose to people who are not usually crypto-investors.
Many new and small cryptocurrencies use celebrities as a means of drawing the attention of individuals who would not normally be crypto investors. While being based on merit and technological innovation might be a better practice, the trend of celebrity endorsements of cryptocurrencies shows no sign of slowing down soon.
