Matt Damon Explains Why He Agreed To Star In That Infamous Crypto Ad

Matt Damon crypto ad

Crypto.com


The cryptocurrency space has been home to some pretty wild swings over the past decade or so, but evangelists were riding high on the boom that emerged in the second half of 2021 following a bust that had seen Bitcoin lose around half of its value in a three-month span.

Plenty of companies scrambled to try to capitalize on the hype with the help of the high-profile names they recruited to shill their various offerings.

That includes Crypto.com, which recruited Matt Damon to star in a widely-mocked commercial where he proclaimed “Fortune Favors The Brave” while implying investing in crypto was tantamount to Columbus setting out to discover the New World and Edmund Hillary deciding to tackle Mount Everest. 

That spot debuted in 2021 and aired during the Super Bowl the following year—and anyone who was “brave” enough to scoop up some Bitcoin in the wake of The Big Game saw their investment cut in half by the time the end of the summer rolled around.

Plenty of people question Damon’s decision to agree to the commercial in the first place when you consider the estimated $170 million he’s racked up over the years means he’s not exactly hurting for money.

Now, the actor has broken his silence on the matter by offering some insight into his rationale.

Damon spoke with The Associated Press earlier this week during an interview where he asserted his clean water charity was the primary motivator when it came to taking the part.

Here’s what he had to say:

“We had a down year in Water.org and I did that commercial in an attempt to raise money for Water.org. 

I gave my whole salary to Water.org because we were down. Crypto.com heard about that and gave $1 million to Water.org completely on their own, so I definitely have a lot of gratitude to them for what they did for our foundation.”

Sure, you can accuse Damon of entering the spin zone to justify a commercial that arguably did more harm than good when everything was said and done, but at least he had a somewhat valid reason beyond a blatant cash grab.

Connor Toole avatar and headshot for BroBible
Connor Toole is the Deputy Editor at BroBible. He is a New England native who went to Boston College and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. Frequently described as "freakishly tall," he once used his 6'10" frame to sneak in the NBA Draft and convince people he was a member of the Utah Jazz.