Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the world's most famous soccer players, is facing a class action lawsuit in the US over his promotion of Binance, as plaintiffs claim his endorsement encouraged them to make investments that resulted in large losses, the BBC reported on Wednesday.
In November 2022, Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, announced its first ‘CR7' collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in partnership with Ronaldo, which the soccer player said would reward fans "for all the years of support".
Now, plaintiffs are seeking damages of "a sum exceeding" $1 billion.
The least expensive NFT from the collection was priced at $77 when it went on sale in November 2022, but is now valued at about $1.
The plaintiffs allege that Ronaldo's promotion of Binance led to a "500% increase in searches" for the crypto exchange, which is registered in the Cayman Islands.
They also stated that Ronaldo should have disclosed how much he was being paid.
NFTs are virtual assets that can be bought and sold, but are generally used to mark ownership of something, such as a picture or video online.
Contact Sean at sean@proactiveinvestors.com