November 30, (THEWILL) – Football superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo, is facing a $1 billion lawsuit in the United States over his promotion of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in partnership with cryptocurrency company, Binance. The lawsuit alleges Ronaldo misled investors into purchasing unregistered securities, leading to significant financial losses.
In November 2022, Ronaldo launched a collection of NFTs with Binance, with the cheapest priced at $77. One year later, the lowest value NFT can be purchased for around $1. Now a group of investors are taking legal action against Ronaldo in Florida, stating that his social media promotions for Binance products led them to make loss-making investments.
The lawsuit claims Ronaldo’s “aggressive” advertising campaign was highly effective in attracting new Binance users. It states that after he announced his NFT collection, online searches for NFT and Binance surged significantly. Plaintiffs argue that Ronaldo is responsible for their losses as his endorsements materially misrepresented the security of assets held on Binance’s platform.
Ronaldo and his representatives have made no comments on the lawsuit so far. He could potentially settle the case to avoid a costly public trial. The lawsuit brings attention to the issue of celebrities promoting controversial cryptocurrency investments without appropriate disclosures.
Other sports stars like Shaquille O’Neal and Floyd Mayweather have faced similar lawsuits over their cryptocurrency promotions. The ultimate outcome of this case could set an important precedent around influencer marketing accountability.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
