Bitcoin crash: Matt Damon BLAMED for pushing 'pyramid scheme' as crypto.com lays off 260 workers
Bitcoin’s price fell below $23,000 on Tuesday, June 14 - its lowest since December 2020, and people are blaming Matt Damon for their lost money. The actor had starred in a viral ad for crypto.com months before the prices of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether plummeted. Currently, crypto prices are at historic lows and are struggling to regain any upward momentum, forcing some companies, including crypto.com, to lay off a significant section of their workforce.
In the crypto commercial ‘Fortune Favors The Brave,’ Damon walks around through a hall of CGI mountain climbers, explorers, a Wright brother, and some astronauts. He asks the viewers to be brave, commit, and take a risk, using phrases like "mere mortals" who "embrace the moment" in "moments of truth" as they "peer over the edge." The 60-second TV ad was featured during NFL playoff games and the Super Bowl.
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With cryptocurrencies hitting 16-month lows this week, those who have lost money are coming after Matt Damon. Many took to Twitter to show their anger. One said, "Matt Damon? I think you mean Ratt Damon." Another said, "Matt Damon lied to us." Another seemed to imply Damon profited while others were left in the lurch, commenting, "More like "Fortune favors Matt Damon". Someone else blamed the people who took his advice, saying, "Matt Damon pushing crypto on rubes in a Superbowl ad was definitely the sign that the dumb money was running out and the people who got in on the pyramid scheme early needed one last round of idiots in order to cash out."
Matt Damon pushing crypto on rubes in a Superbowl ad was definitely the sign that the dumb money was running out and the people who got in on the pyramid scheme early needed one last round of idiots in order to cash out. #BTC
— Tired (@nothingfromnada) June 13, 2022
However, not everyone shared the same opinion. Aaron Levie, CEO of cloud-based software company Box, tweeted: "I refuse to believe Matt Damon was wrong about investing advice."
I refuse to believe Matt Damon was wrong about investing advice.
— Aaron Levie (@levie) June 13, 2022
Crypto.com lays off 260 workers
The CEO of Crypto.com Kris Marszalek said in a tweet on June 11 that the Singapore-based exchange will lay off 260 workers, or 5 percent of its workforce. "Our approach is to stay focused on executing against our roadmap and optimizing for profitability as we do so," Marszalek wrote in the tweet. He added, "That means making difficult and necessary decisions to ensure continued and sustainable growth for the long term by making targeted reductions of approximately 260 or 5% of our corporate workforce.”
That means making difficult and necessary decisions to ensure continued and sustainable growth for the long term by making targeted reductions of approximately 260 or 5% of our corporate workforce.
— Kris | Crypto.com (@kris) June 11, 2022
Is crypto over?
Last year, on October 28, the day the ad was out, the price of Bitcoin was $60,608. Just ten days later, on November 8, it hit an all-time high of $68,990. According to MarketWatch, if someone had purchased $1000 worth of bitcoin when the commercial debuted, its value would have been less than half of that as of May 12. Similarly, had you purchased $1000 worth of ether when the commercial debuted, you would have been left with less than $500 as of May 12.
As per CNBC, wallets with balances of more than 10,000 bitcoin have been a significant distributive force in recent times. On the other hand, the data shows that those holding less than 1 bitcoin are the strongest accumulators.