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In the wake of Binance’s legal woes, a group of investors have sued famous soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo for promoting the world’s largest exchange.
A group of crypto investors have filed a lawsuit against global soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo in a U.S. District Court in Florida.
Plaintiffs’ Claims
The plaintiffs named Mikey Vongdara, Michael Sizemore, and Gordon Lewis alleged that they suffered significant losses following Ronaldo’s promotion of the world’s largest crypto exchange Binance.
Per a November 27 filing, the plaintiffs claim that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner “promoted, assisted in, and/or actively participated in the offer and sale of unregistered securities in coordination with Binance.”
In mid-2022, Binance signed a multi-year partnership deal with the Al Nassr player to promote a series of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), including three of his digital collectibles.
Furthermore, they argued that Ronaldo’s 2022 promotion of Binance contributed to increasing the exchange’s popularity. The complainants noted that Binance-related searches skyrocketed 500% on the week of Ronaldo’s NFT sales on the exchange.
According to the complainants, people who visited Binance to obtain Ronaldo’s NFTs were more likely to use the trading platform for other purposes. The plaintiffs claim that unsuspecting users may have invested in tokens deemed unregistered securities by the SEC, including BNB and ADA.
The filing alleged that Ronaldo knew or should have known that Binance offers unregistered securities. To further buttress their argument, they cited the SEC’s warnings to celebrities about disclosing the financial details for all crypto-related promotions.
Binance Legal Woes
It bears mentioning that Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) are currently embroiled in a legal battle with the United States government over money laundering offenses.
The defendants pleaded guilty and agreed to pay a fine of $4.3 billion. Meanwhile, the development prompted CZ to step down as Binance’s CEO, as he awaits the ruling for violating U.S. law.
CZ is facing up to 18 months in prison, with the ruling scheduled for February 2024.