The year 2021 has witnessed a greater inflow of influencers and celebrities to the space than ever before.
It has been reported that all the way from mainstream tech entrepreneurs and presidents to rappers and reality TV stars, celebrities have gotten involved in crypto in their own unique ways. While some chose to create their own versions of crypto ecosystems and tokens, others helped spread awareness of various projects.
However, influential celebrities such as legendary rapper Snoop Dogg, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, top professional Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka, international soccer legend Lionel Messi, Facebook now Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Hollywood diva Kim Kardashian, American rapper Soulja Boy, American personality Paris Hilton, Chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, and many more.
The report said that unlike previous years, when crypto entrepreneurs and enthusiasts did most of the heavy lifting, mainstream celebrities took charge of promoting crypto by minting and selling NFTs, participating in events hosted in the Metaverse, promoting token offerings, or simply showing support by purchasing Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Likewise, Snoop Dogg has always been an early adopter and promoter of technology and lifestyle merchandise. Elon Musk made his mark on crypto when he started publicly endorsing Dogecoin (DOGE) back in 2020, while Messi was one of the most high-profile players to get linked with the crypto ecosystem in 2021. When he signed the deal to join the Paris Saint-Germain football club, a part of the salary package included payment in the club’s fan tokens.
It is to be mentioned that Zuckerberg’s entry into crypto has been long-awaited ever since Facebook released the white paper for the Libra cryptocurrency back in 2019. Similarly, Kardashian marked her entry into crypto by promoting Ethereum Max (EMAX), an untested cryptocurrency token, on her official Instagram account.
Moreover, Paris Hilton got in on the NFT wave in 2021. Despite her seemingly late entry, Hilton claims to have invested in Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) back when BTC was valued below $1,000. Also, Magnus Carlsen is among the younger celebrities to lead the crypto adoption drive via various chess-centric events and initiatives. In partnership with Chess Champs, an NFT-collectible marketplace, Carlsen and other professional chess players competed for NFT trophies and cash prizes in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
Thus, for India, 2021 has been a remarkable year for mass crypto exposure, as mainstream actors participated in numerous advertising campaigns and crypto-promoting initiatives. The drive for greater crypto penetration in a market with over 1.3 billion people was powered by local crypto exchanges including CoinDCX, WazirX, and ZebPay. The companies partnered with influential celebrities such as Amitabh Bachchan to promote crypto trading and purchases.
Source: Cointelegraph