Cristiano Ronaldo Sued for Promoting Binance
29 Nov, 2023 ● Kripto novosti
Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit from plaintiffs which claim that they have lost money as a result of his endorsement of the legally-challenged cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
Ronaldo "promoted, assisted in, and/or actively participated in the offer and sale of unregistered securities in coordination with Binance," according to a filing made on November 27 to a United States district court in Florida.
Midway through 2022, Binance and Ronaldo forged a multiyear partnership to support a number of his own nonfungible tokens (NFTs), at least three of which were connected to Binance.
Users who registered for Ronaldo's NFTs, according to the complaint, were more likely to use Binance for other purposes, like investing in what they allege to be unregistered securities, such as Binance's BNB and its cryptocurrency yield programs.
“Ronaldo’s promotions solicited or assisted Binance in soliciting investments in unregistered securities by encouraging his millions of followers, fans, and supporters to invest with the Binance platform.”
With 850 million followers on social media, Ronaldo's influence and reach played a significant role in Binance's rising prominence, according to the complaint.
They claim that the exchange was "incredibly successful" at being promoted by his NFT sales, as evidenced by the 500% spike in searches for Binance in the week that followed the initial sale.
Given his "vast resources to obtain outside advisers" and "investment experience," the lawsuit claims Ronaldo should have known or knew of Binance's sale of unregistered cryptocurrency securities.
Ronaldo is accused of failing to disclose payments he received for endorsing cryptocurrencies as highlighted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)'s guidance towards celebrities which promote cryptocurrencies.
Sources:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/cristiano-ronaldo-class-action-lawsuit-over-binance-promotion
