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Football icon Cristiano Ronaldo is facing a collective lawsuit for promoting the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, with the claimed amount exceeding $1 billion.
On November 30th, several reports from foreign media outlets stated that multiple virtual asset investors filed a lawsuit in a Florida court, alleging that Binance's collaboration with Ronaldo and other prominent figures led to costly and unsafe investments for these investors.
The lawsuit claims that Ronaldo's promotion of Binance is deceptive and unlawful. It directly accuses Ronaldo of promoting, assisting, and actively participating in the issuance and sale of unregistered securities by Binance, including the sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) related to himself, resulting in significant economic losses for investors. The claimed amount in this collective lawsuit is expected to exceed $1 billion.
Last November, before the opening of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Ronaldo collaborated with Binance to launch the first "CR7" series of NFTs. These NFTs had initial prices ranging from $77 to $10,000 and included seven animated statues depicting iconic moments in Ronaldo's life, from bicycle-kick goals to his childhood in Portugal.
NFTs transform digital artworks and other collectibles into unique, verifiable virtual assets that can be traded on the blockchain. Although NFTs experienced a brief boom, their value significantly declined with scandals and market turbulence in the cryptocurrency industry.
The collective lawsuit alleges that Ronaldo allowed his name and likeness to be used in Binance's promotion of its products, especially for selling unregistered cryptographic securities prone to extreme fluctuations. The plaintiffs also accuse Ronaldo of failing to disclose the compensation or amounts received from Binance, as required by U.S. law, and claim that both Binance and Ronaldo were aware that these advertisements targeted consumers unfamiliar with cryptocurrencies.
Gary Gensler, the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), emphasized that celebrities must disclose where they receive compensation and reveal how much compensation they receive when promoting securities investments.
In recent years, several celebrities have faced lawsuits or fines for promoting cryptocurrency-related investments. In October 2022, Kim Kardashian was charged by the SEC for promoting a type of cryptographic security offered and sold by the EthereumMax platform on social media without disclosing the $250,000 compensation received for the promotion. Kardashian agreed to settle the charges, paying a $1.26 million fine and interest. In November 2022, users sued the NBA's Golden State Warriors after the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, investigating several FTX star endorsers by Texas regulatory authorities.
It's worth noting that the collective lawsuit against Ronaldo comes after the regulatory events involving Binance. On November 21st, Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to allow Binance to continue its operations. As part of the agreement, Binance pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering, unlicensed remittances, and violations of sanctions, agreeing to pay a $4.3 billion fine. Changpeng Zhao admitted to violating U.S. anti-money laundering laws, agreeing to pay a $50 million fine and stepping down as CEO. |
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Post time 10-12-2023 06:50:37