Football star Cristiano Ronaldo was hit with a class-action lawsuit on Monday for his promotion of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) listed on Binance that allegedly contained “deceptive statements”. The plaintiffs are seeking damages over $1 billion against the Portuguese soccer star and the crypto exchange. Deemed valuable forms of virtual artwork, these digital tokens boomed in popularity earlier in 2021 while spurred by cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Though the most affordable NFT from Ronaldo’s collection cost $77 when it debuted prior to the 2021 FIFA World Cup, its current worth is said to have decreased to a mere $1 – per reports from
BBC News.
Monday’s lawsuit declared the advocations by both Ronaldo and Binance were targeted toward those unfamiliar with crypto. Notwarts, legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady, Serena Williams as well as “Curb Your Enthusiasm” star Larry David, and many fanatic personalities have been cited within a similar class-action lawsuit, filing the endorsement of the Bored Ape Yacht Club digital art collection and Sam Bankman-Fried’s failed crypto exchange, FTX, respectively. The grievement issued against the Portuguese fades in comparison with Binance’s $4. Beverly settlement with the US Department of Justice, which reprimanded them for flouting anti-money-laundering conditions as well as severing connections with certain destabilizing forces (Hamas, Al-Qaeda, and Isis). Neither Binance nor Ronaldo’s management team replied to Business Insider’s request for commentary at the time of the report.