- Soccer icon Cristiano Ronaldo is facing a class-action lawsuit in the US, with plaintiffs seeking over $1 billion in damages
- Ronaldo is accused of illegally promoting Binance while launching his NFT collection last year
- The plaintiffs say that his endorsement led to them losing money by buying unregistered securities from the exchange
Soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo is at the center of a massive class-action lawsuit in the US, with plaintiffs seeking damages exceeding $1 billion over his promotion of Binance. The claimants allege that Ronaldo’s endorsement of the exchange, which was made during the launch of his NFT collection last November, led to investments in what they term “unregistered securities.” They lay the losses at the feet of Ronaldo, alleging that the Al Nassr striker should have known he was promoting unregistered securities and is seeking the massive payout in damages.
Plaintiffs Lost $1 Billion…Apparently
Ronaldo launched his first NFT collection with Binance on November 18, 2022, with the cheapest item in the collection priced at $77. Within a year, however, the same NFT was valued at just $1.
The claimants allege that Ronaldo’s promotion of Binance led to a “500% increase in searches” for the exchange, allegedly leading the claimants to use Binance in order to buy what they now believe the be securities, with Binance’s BNB cryptocurrency named in the suit as an example.
Celebrity Promoters Still Attracting Trouble
The plaintiffs argue that, as well as receiving a slice of sales, Ronaldo was paid to promote Binance, a fact that he withheld from the public; Kim Kardashian is among those who have been accused of similar crimes, with Kardashian famously settling over her promotion of EthereumMax in October last year.
The lawsuit was announced just a day after Ronaldo revealed on X that he is “Cooking something up” with Binance, although it remains to be seen if this will go ahead in light of the lawsuit.
