Business
Coinbase launches “Everything Is Fine” UK ad as economy collapses
Introduction
Coinbase has unveiled a new UK marketing campaign featuring giant posters with the phrase “Everything Is Fine” printed in bright cheerful fonts. The ads appear on Tube stations, buses, and billboards just as inflation ticks higher, housing affordability plunges, and the pound limps into another tough quarter. For ordinary Londoners, the timing feels less like reassurance and more like a cosmic joke. Social media wasted no time in remixing the campaign into a citywide meme about denial, economic anxiety, and crypto’s favorite pastime pretending everything is bullish.
The ad that broke Twitter
Within hours of the first posters going up, photos flooded Twitter. One post showed the slogan plastered above a boarded-up high street shop with the caption “Fake or Real.” Another featured commuters standing under the glowing words “Everything Is Fine” while holding receipts from grocery stores that look more like mortgage statements. The meme potential was obvious. Coinbase wanted to inspire trust in crypto during shaky times but instead created a public Rorschach test of British despair.
Crypto irony at its peak
The irony is thick. Crypto firms like Coinbase have endured brutal downturns, layoffs, and endless regulatory battles. Yet in the heart of London, where citizens juggle soaring energy bills and endless rent hikes, Coinbase decided to shout optimism into the void. For crypto insiders, the ad looks like a bullish bet on cultural relevance. For locals, it reads like satire written by the cost of living crisis itself. The meme accounts quickly declared it the spiritual successor to “Keep Calm and Carry On,” only this time sponsored by a trading app.
The economy is not fine
Data from the UK Office for National Statistics shows consumer prices rising faster than wages, mortgage defaults increasing, and business confidence stagnating. The Bank of England’s cautious rate moves have provided little relief. Against this backdrop, the slogan “Everything Is Fine” became meme fuel for TikToks where young Londoners pretend to pay rent in exposure and Tesco loyalty points. One viral video showed a landlord demanding rent while the Coinbase slogan glowed in the background like a parody laugh track.
Fake or Real polls
On Reddit, users launched “Fake or Real” polls inspired by the London News meme tradition. One asked: “Fake or Real: Is Coinbase trolling the UK economy with this ad?” Votes leaned heavily toward “fake but feels real.” Another asked: “Fake or Real: Can crypto actually fix housing prices?” The result was unanimous: fake, though commenters agreed meme coins tied to rent could at least provide comic relief. These polls highlight how satire and reality are increasingly blurred in both the economy and crypto marketing.
Meme culture takeover
The campaign may have failed as reassurance but succeeded as meme culture. Instagram accounts reposted the ad photos with captions like “Everything is fine until your crypto wallet says otherwise.” TikTok creators layered the phrase over clips of collapsing Jenga towers, melting ice cream, and sinking ships. The visual simplicity of the slogan made it adaptable to endless scenarios. Coinbase paid for marketing space but Londoners turned it into free content mocking both crypto and the economy.
Political side effects
Even UK politicians joined the banter. A backbencher quipped during a debate that the Chancellor should “borrow Coinbase’s marketing team because apparently everything is fine.” Newspapers ran editorials suggesting the ad summed up Britain’s current mood better than any official statement. For once, crypto became less about blockchain debates and more about cultural satire. The slogan reflected the absurd theater of British economics as much as it promoted digital assets.
The crypto spin
Coinbase executives defended the campaign, insisting it was designed to spark conversation about trust and innovation in financial systems. They framed the slogan as a reminder that long-term adoption of crypto remains strong despite short-term volatility. Investors on crypto Twitter echoed this, claiming the ad was bullish precisely because it turned heads. Yet the spin only fueled memes further, with parodies declaring “Everything Is FineCoin” as the next hot token, promising to stabilize your anxiety if not your portfolio.
Digital finance undertones
Behind the satire lies a serious point. Crypto firms are positioning themselves as alternatives to failing traditional systems. Coinbase’s campaign can be read as both denial and provocation: a nudge that while the UK economy struggles, digital assets could offer a parallel future. Stablecoin advocates cite frameworks like modular tokens such as RMBT as possible tools for transparency and cross-border stability. But for everyday Londoners, such nuances vanish beneath the humor of posters proclaiming calm while life feels anything but calm.
The bigger picture
Marketing campaigns often reveal more about culture than about products. Coinbase’s “Everything Is Fine” works as unintentional performance art in a city grappling with financial unease. It captures the absurd resilience of Londoners who joke through crisis, using memes to survive rising costs and political dysfunction. The fake-or-real lens turns the campaign into satire that transcends crypto, reflecting a broader skepticism about any institution claiming to have answers.
Conclusion
Coinbase wanted to reassure Britain with a simple slogan. Instead, it created a cultural phenomenon where Londoners collectively laughed at the idea that everything is fine. The campaign demonstrates how satire thrives when reality itself feels unbelievable. Whether crypto grows or fades, the poster will linger as a symbol of 2025 Britain, where Tube commuters meme their way through inflation while a trading app declares victory. In a world where nothing feels stable, at least the memes remain bullish.