A cryptocurrency exchange platform’s newest advert satirising Britain’s economy was “not allowed” to be aired.
The Coinbase advert nods to a number of everyday struggles faced by Britons.
Homes in the advert are crumbling, with broken doors and gaping holes in the ceiling.
A woman, wearing a medical uniform, is meanwhile asleep on a pile of bills while outside her home lies mountains of rubbish.
The advert also makes reference to Britain’s rising food prices.
While buying fish fingers, the woman comments to the shop worker “everything is a steal…just £100 a meal.”
Actors then sing that they are “paying off their law degree” with tips from food deliveries as they mount mopeds.
They can be seen dancing through rat-ridden streets singing “everything is fine”.
Coinbase posted the advert to X and said: “If everything is fine, then don’t change anything at all.
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The advert nods to Britain’s rising food prices
“But when the financial system isn’t working for so many people in the UK, it needs to be updated.”
On its website, Coinbase says it is “the most trusted platform in the UK for buying, selling and trading crypto”.
CEO Brian Armstrong confirmed the crypto exchange platform wasn’t “allowed” to air the advert.
“We weren’t allowed to run this ad on TV in the UK, but that’s fine, we can just share it online, Armstrong wrote to X
“We’re using humour to make a very important point: the current financial system simply doesn’t work for most people. It needs to be updated.”
Coinbase
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Actors in the advert sing they are ‘paying off their law degree’ with tips from food deliveries as they mount mopeds
It comes as industry leaders warned this week food inflation will rise to six per cent by the end of the year in what has been described as a “significant challenge” to household budgets.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has told retailers to brace for rising prices and potential job losses if Rachel Reeves hikes taxes in her next budget.
With the Chancellor just a few months away from stepping up to the despatch box, two thirds of chief financial officers are expecting further price rises.
A survey by the BRC found 56 per cent of retail finance chiefs, representing more than 9,000 stores, are “pessimistic” about trading conditions over the next 12 months.
Rachel Reeves has previously pledged not to raise ‘working people’ taxes
It’s not just price hikes – cost increases can also put jobs on the line.
According to data, 42 per cent of CFOs said they have had to freeze recruitment, while 38 per cent said they have had to reduce in-store job numbers.
The BRC said there were almost 100,000 fewer retail jobs in the first quarter of 2025 than the same time last year.
Speculation remains rife over what changes Reeves will make in her upcoming budget after earlier pledging not to raise taxes on “working people”.