Portuguese football icon, Cristiano Ronaldo is being sued in the United States as part of a class action lawsuit because he promoted Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world.
The plaintiffs claim that because Cristiano Ronaldo endorsed Binance, they invested in the company, an investment that failed to yield contrary as promised.
They are requesting damages worth over $1 billion to cover their losses in the “failed” investment.
In November 2022, Binance and Ronaldo unveiled the “CR7” collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) with a promise that it would yield profit for potential investors.
Ronaldo claimed in a social media video announcing the partnership that “we are going to change the NFT game and take football to the next level” as a pledge to possible investors.
The least expensive NFT in the collection was listed for $77 when it went up for sale in November 2022, but after a year, it was only about $1.
The claimants state that Binance experienced a “500% increase in searches” after Ronaldo endorsed the Cayman Islands-based cryptocurrency exchange.
Furthermore, they assert that it promoted clients to use the business to invest in “unregistered securities,” like Binance’s cryptocurrency BNB.
The US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) views these assets as securities, so celebrities who endorse them are subject to US law.
The claimants assert that Ronaldo was required to disclose how much he was paid to promote the NFT but opted not to do so.
At the time of writing, Cristiano Ronaldo and Binance were yet to publicly react to the lawsuit
