Football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has been sued for $1 billion following his involvement with the leading crypto exchange, Binance. In a lawsuit on November 27, the plaintiffs, Michael Sizemore, Mikey Vongdara, and Gordon Lewis, alleged that the most followed footballer on social media used his influence to aid Binance in promoting and offering unregistered securities.
The lawsuit, filed in a United States District Court in Florida, stated that Cristiano Ronaldo’s NFT collection partnership with Binance increased investor interest in the trading platform and prompted them to use it for other purposes, which included buying unregistered securities like SOL, BNB, ADA, MATIC, and a host of other assets listed by the plaintiffs.
Ronaldo entered into a multiyear partnership with Binance in mid-2022 to promote his NFT collections. As the lawsuit claimed, the Portuguese player’s contract also involved serving as the exchange’s spokesperson and providing marketing services.
Ronaldo Aggressively Promoted Binance: Lawsuit
The plaintiffs claimed that the social media sensation “aggressively” promoted Binance several times using his posts on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. According to them, the advertisement increased the exchange’s visibility and caused a 500% increment in keyword searches for “Binance.”
The plaintiffs claimed that the promotions inherently gave Binance more grounds to sell unregistered securities to investors. They also noted that Ronaldo failed to disclose the financial benefits of his repeated promotions of Binance, according to the new laws for crypto influencers.
Plaintiffs Seek Compensation
The plaintiffs claimed that Ronaldo’s active promotions have led to investor losses and sought the top-rated player to compensate for the losses. As per the filing, the plaintiffs seek that the defendant provide direct and compensatory damages. They also want Ronaldo to return all his financial benefits from promoting Binance.
Again, Binance has made headlines for a lawsuit days after its slugfest with the U.S. authorities a few days ago. In what has been a busy few weeks for Binance, it agreed to a $4.3 billion compensation with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and saw its founder, Changpeng Zhao, step down as CEO.
CZ pleaded guilty to anti-money laundering and risks facing up to 18 months in jail. The former boss would know what his fate is by February 23. A court ruling has also mandated him to remain in the U.S. as against his intentions of traveling to the UAE until his sentencing.
