Cristiano Ronaldo sued for billion dollars because of loss on NFT investment
Last Updated on 1 December 2023 by CryptoTips.eu
Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has been sued in the United States for an amount exceeding $1 billion. The indictment comes just days after US authorities handed out a billion-dollar fine to Binance, the global crypto platform, and is linked to that judgment.
The plaintiffs claim they were convinced by Ronaldo and Binance to purchase NFTs a year ago. Those NFTs now appear to be worthless.
Cristiano Ronaldo is being SUED for promoting the Cryptocurrency exchange Binance 😳 pic.twitter.com/45agjrBydU
— Mail Sport (@MailSport) November 30, 2023
Dogecoin
The story reminded me a bit of the lawsuit against Elon Musk recently for his promotion of Dogecoin on X (formerly Twitter). Some investors felt that they had purchased Dogecoin at the peak and that the digital currency had only fallen in value since then. As a result, they lost money and sued Musk for billions of dollars.
Here too, the plaintiffs think they can get money from Ronaldo for the loss of their NFT investment. When they purchased the Ronaldo NFTs back in November of 2022, most of the pieces were worth $77. Due to the collapse of the NFT market, the current value is approximately $1.
From @TheAthleticFC: Cristiano Ronaldo is being sued in a $1 billion lawsuit by people who bought his NFTs. Last November, Ronaldo launched a collection of NFTs with Binance, the cheapest of which was $77. One year later, this costs about $1. https://t.co/DSWGBtL8mo
— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 30, 2023
The plaintiffs allege in their complaint that Ronaldo’s promotion on Binance’s website led to a “500% increase in searches” for the crypto platform itself.
Gensler
According to the US stock market watchdog SEC, these assets can be considered securities, and therefore celebrities who endorse them must follow US law.
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler previously said celebrities should “disclose to the public who and how much you are paid to promote investments.”
Ronaldo is not alone in the list of celebrities charged with misleading crypto promotion. Top model Gisele Bundchen and NFL icon Tom Brady were also charged when crypto platform FTX went bankrupt.
