Trouble For Cristiano Ronaldo As He Faces $1 Billion Lawsuit In Connection With Binance NFTs

On his official website, under the partners section, Cristiano Ronaldo claims, ¡°I work with brands I believe in.¡± But it seems that the footballer¡¯s association with one of the listed partners has put him in trouble, besides the possibility of a billion-dollar lawsuit.

What Trouble Has Cristiano Ronaldo Landed Into?

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Cristiano Ronaldo has been hit with a class-action lawsuit seeking at least $1 billion in damages for his role in promoting cryptocurrency-related ¡°non-fungible tokens,¡± or NFTs, issued by the beleaguered cryptocurrency exchange Binance.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in the Southern District of Florida on Monday alleges the footballer¡¯s promotion of Binance was ¡°deceptive and unlawful.¡± Binance¡¯s partnership with high-profile figures such as Ronaldo, the plaintiffs claim, led them into costly and unsafe investments.

¡°Evidence now reveals that Binance¡¯s fraud was only able to reach such heights through the offer and sale of unregistered securities, with the willing help and assistance of some of the wealthiest, powerful and recognised organisations and celebrities across the globe¡ªjust like defendant Ronaldo,¡± the lawsuit reads, as per The Guardian report.

When Did Ronaldo Launch His NFTs With Binance?

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Cristiano Ronaldo launched his inaugural NFT ¡°CR7¡± collection with Binance in November last year, ahead of the 2022 World Cup, which Argentina eventually won. The NFTs, which had starting prices ranging from the equivalent of about $US77 to $US10,000, featured seven animated statues depicting Ronaldo from various moments in his life.

The lawsuit said the promotional efforts of Ronaldo¡¯s Binance partnership were ¡°incredibly successful," alleging a 500% increase in online searches using the keyword ¡°Binance¡± after the footballer¡¯s NFTs were announced. The collection¡¯s premium-level NFTs sold out within the first week, the lawsuit claims.

Why Is The Lawsuit Blaming Ronaldo?

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The lawsuit alleges that Ronaldo should have disclosed how much Binance has paid him for the partnership. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) previously noted that federal law requires celebrities to publicly disclose how much they are paid to promote securities, including crypto assets.

Earlier this year Binance was accused of operating as an unregistered securities exchange and violating a slew of US securities laws in a lawsuit from regulators. The crypto exchange agreed last week to pay a roughly $4 billion settlement. Its founder, Changpeng Zhao, stepped down as CEO and pleaded guilty related to his failure to prevent money-laundering on the platform.

Also Read: Why Amazon Shareholders Have Filed A Lawsuit Against Jeff Bezos

What Was Ronaldo's Most Recent Post Promoting Binance?

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Ronaldo has continued to promote Binance on his official website and social media platforms. Most recently, on X/Twitter, he reposted a Binance video and wrote that he was ¡°cooking something up¡± with the crypto exchange last week.

Cooking something up with @binance https://t.co/FMAP5GAdxE

¡ª Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) November 28, 2023

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