A class-action lawsuit filed in Florida on Thursday seeks more than $1 billion in damages from international soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo for his role in promoting the Binance cryptocurrency exchange.
The lawsuit accuses Binance of selling unregistered securities and operating illegally in the United States. Furthermore, Ronaldo allegedly used his fame to promote investments, attracting traffic and investors to the platform.
“Binding laws nationwide regarding the large-scale promotion of cryptocurrencies and unregistered securities have recently been clarified and revoked,” plaintiffs’ attorney Adam Moskowitz wrote. He argued that under the new standards, “people like Cristiano Ronaldo The promoters, if motivated by their own financial interests or the financial interests of the issuer of the securities (Binance), can be held liable under securities laws for their use of the Internet and social media.” A large number of requests for cryptocurrencies. “
The lawsuit lists a wide range of alleged violations by Binance, including operating an unregistered exchange and clearing house, failing to file suspicious activity reports, and failing to implement anti-money laundering controls. In early November, Binance paid more than $4 billion in fines related to these activities.
The plaintiffs, meanwhile, argue that Ronaldo benefited financially from directing traffic to Binance and should have known that his promotions were likely illegal. They claimed that more than 100 million Binance users were exposed to Ronaldo’s ads on television and social media.
“Ronaldo’s promotions solicited or assisted Binance in soliciting investments in unregistered securities by encouraging his millions of followers, fans and followers to invest through the Binance platform,” the lawsuit states. “Given Mr. Ronaldo’s investment experience and having access to substantial resources from outside counsel, who knew or should have known of potential concerns regarding Binance’s sale of unregistered crypto securities and/or that he was aiding and abetting the fraud and/or Binance conversion.”
Last November, Ronaldo partnered with Binance to launch his first NFT series called “CR7” ahead of the 2022 World Cup. This premium NFT collection features seven animated digital statues capturing iconic moments from Ronaldo’s illustrious career. Each rare NFT depicts Ronaldo’s signature poses, including his early years growing up in Portugal, as well as his legendary strides and tricks such as successful overhead kicks.
NFTs start at around $77 to $10,000. New Binance customers who create an account using a promotional code will also receive “CR7” mystery box, containing one of two special NFTs. There are a total of 777,777 NFTs of each type.
Plaintiffs’ lawyers believe compensation is the only way for victims to seek justice.
“Investors have now lost over $11 billion, and some exchanges such as FTX and Voyager have filed for bankruptcy, so this lawsuit is one of the only ways for victims to recover some of their direct losses from these specific promoters,” Moskowitz wrote. road.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) made a strong statement about the liability faced by celebrities involved in cryptocurrency promotions when it filed charges against NBA Hall of Famer Paul Pierce earlier this year.
“The law requires you to disclose to the public how much money you receive from whom to promote investments in securities, and you cannot lie to investors when promoting securities,” SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said at the time. “When celebrities endorse When investing in opportunities (including crypto asset values), investors should carefully investigate whether the investment is suitable for them and should understand why celebrities make these endorsements.”
Gurbir S. Grewal, director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division, added: “Federal securities laws clearly require that any celebrity or other person who promotes crypto-asset securities must disclose the nature, source and amount of compensation they receive for the promotion.” “Investors have a right to know whether the sponsor of a security is impartial.”
The SEC order alleges that Pierce violated the anti-promotion and anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws.
Editor’s note: This story was written using Decrypt AI based on sources mentioned in the article, Verified Ozawa.