Cristiano Ronaldo, a Portuguese soccer player, is being sued in a class-action lawsuit for his part in pushing millions of his followers to cryptocurrency-related "non-fungible tokens," or NFTs, released by the struggling cryptocurrency exchange Binance. The complaint is requesting at least $1 billion in damages.

According to the case, which was filed on Monday in federal court in the Southern District of Florida, Ronaldo's endorsement of Binance was "deceptive and unlawful." The plaintiffs contend that their investments became riskier and more expensive as a result of Binance's association with prominent people like Ronaldo.

(Photo : by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)
Cristiano Ronaldo, a Portuguese soccer player, is being sued in a class-action lawsuit for his part in pushing millions of his followers cryptocurrency-related "non-fungible tokens," or NFTs, released by the struggling cryptocurrency exchange Binance.

According to the complaint, Ronaldo pushed millions of his followers and supporters to invest with Binance under the terms of the marketing relationship, despite the fact that many of them were not familiar with cryptocurrencies or the website. His supporters left believing that their investments were secure because of his sponsorships; this is allegedly the case with the lawsuit's plaintiffs, who purchased goods offered on Binance following Ronaldo's endorsements.

The lawsuit alleges that Binance's fraudulent activities reached significant levels through the offer and sale of unregistered securities, facilitated by the collaboration of influential organizations and celebrities worldwide, including Defendant Ronaldo. The suit contends that evidence supports these claims.

Ronaldo's representatives declined to comment on Thursday. The biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the world is Binance.

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Ronaldo's NFT

Ahead of the 2022 World Cup, Ronaldo debuted his first NFT "CR7" collection with Binance in November of last year. Starting from around $77 to $10,000, the NFTs included seven animated figurines that represented famous events in Ronaldo's life, such as bicycle-kick goals and his early years in Portugal.

The lawsuit filed on Monday claims that Ronaldo's engagement with Binance was "incredibly successful" in terms of marketing, with a 500% spike in internet searches for "Binance" following the news of the soccer player's NFTs. According to the lawsuit, the premium-level NFTs in the collection sold out in the first week.

Ronaldo was also supposed to have revealed the amount that Binance paid him for the collaboration, according to the lawsuit. As previously mentioned by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, federal law mandates that celebrities reveal their compensation to the public for endorsing securities, including cryptocurrency assets.

Not A First

Ronaldo isn't the only well-known figure to face legal action because of their connections to cryptocurrency. Supermodel Gisele Bundchen, comedian Larry David, and NFL quarterback Tom Brady were among a star-studded group of persons charged with cheating investors who lost money in the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange last year.

The celebrities had featured in past FTX promos as well as a Super Bowl commercial. According to the lawsuit, the celebrities should have been held accountable for endorsing FTX's doomed business plan.

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