The dramatic market sell-off this week raises troubling questions about the stability of the crypto marketplace and digital currency’s long-term value, heightening anxiety among retail investors and validating skeptics who have dismissed crypto as a fad or scam.

None of the celebrities contacted by NBC News are directly responsible for the crash, of course, but marketing experts say they helped add mainstream legitimacy to a fast-growing but poorly understood industry.

“The major celebrity endorsements across crypto — whether it’s Matt Damon or Tom Brady — help consumers feel comfortable with these brands,” said Jason Damata, founder and CEO of Fabric Media, a strategy and marketing company that has partnered with celebrities.

“When a celebrity puts their name on a brand in a marketplace where there’s literally hundreds of choices, it helps the consumer hone in, and they’re lending their trust to the product,” he said.

But with any endorsement, crypto or otherwise, many consumers operate under the assumption that the pitchman has done at least some level of research into the product — in this case, digital currencies that some critics consider a wildly risky bet.

“I think consumers presume that spokespeople have done some amount of due diligence on the companies they promote,” Damata said, explaining that he does not hold any of the celebrities directly responsible for fluctuations in the market.