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Coinbase targets Latino voters with $2 million ad campaign
Coinbase, the publicly traded US cryptocurrency exchange, has launched a new $2 million advertising campaign aimed at Latino voters and consumers.
According to Reuters report June 20, the campaign is part of the cryptocurrency industry’s broader efforts to gain support from politicians sympathetic to their cause. The advertising campaign promotes cryptocurrency as an efficient and economical way to send money abroad.
It features a young man using Coinbase’s USD coin to send financial aid to his grandmother in Mexico, highlighting the fact that using the Coinbase Wallet app comes with no fees, unlike the typical 6.18% charged by traditional transfer services of money.
The report follows former House Speaker Paul Ryan recently urging lawmakers to consider creating an adequate regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. He underlined his belief in this stablecoins could lead to a stronger dollar:
A robust and predictable regulatory framework for stablecoins enjoys bipartisan support in Congress and would help greatly expand the use of digital dollars at a critical time. In an election year, given all the bad political conditions to come, we could certainly use a win.
Highly targeted advertising
To maximize its reach among Latino viewers, Coinbase will advertise during the Copa America soccer tournament on Univision. The campaign focuses on California, Texas and Washington DC. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa endorsed the campaign:
Our traditional financial system doesn’t work for communities of color, who face disproportionate barriers to wealth creation at every turn.
A 2022 Mastercard survey revealed that Latin American consumers are increasingly looking for cryptocurrencies and services related to digital payments, with 51% of respondents having already made a transaction using cryptocurrencies. The survey also found that 86% of Latino consumers used at least one emerging payment method in 2022, indicating growing adoption of new financial technologies in the region.
Coinbase’s advertising campaign is just one of many advocacy initiatives undertaken by the company and the broader cryptocurrency industry. In August 2022, Coinbase launched Stand With Crypto, a tax-exempt social welfare group representing cryptocurrency owners and voters. The organization quickly grown to over 1 million membershighlighting the significant electoral influence of the crypto community.
The cryptocurrency industry has also spent tens of millions of dollars on US elections this year, targeting specific races and donating to pro-crypto PACs. THE $78 million donated to Fairshake by companies in the sector, including Coinbase, is an example of this.