Portuguese football icon Cristiano Ronaldo is facing a lawsuit which accuses him of participating “in the offer and sale of unregistered securities in coordination with Binance.” One of Ronaldo’s latest social media posts suggests that he is still collaborating with the cryptocurrency exchange.
Ronaldo’s Coordination With Binance
The celebrity Portuguese footballer and one of the sport’s top earners, Cristiano Ronaldo, is being sued for his role in promoting and participating “in the offer and sale of unregistered securities in coordination with Binance.” The plaintiffs in the case are seeking damages in excess of $1 billion.
According to the plaintiffs, Ronaldo’s endorsement of Binance’s non-fungible token (NFT) collection convinced them to commit funds to what are now loss-generating investments. As reported by Bitcoin.com News in June 2022, the athlete’s partnership with Binance saw him not only market the NFTs but also encourage his followers to join his Web3 community.
Ronaldo’s Massive Social Media Following
With an estimated 840 million plus followers across social media platforms, Ronaldo’s posts on his partnership with Binance were seemingly aimed at driving traffic to the crypto exchange.
“Ronaldo’s promotions solicited or assisted Binance in soliciting investments in unregistered securities by encouraging his millions of followers, fans, and supporters to invest with the Binance platform,” the plaintiffs argued.
Cooking something up with @binance https://t.co/FMAP5GAdxE
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) November 28, 2023
To back their claims, the plaintiffs said after he shared a video on X (formerly Twitter) in which he promised to “take football to the next level,” internet searches for Binance went up by 500%. Some of Ronaldo’s followers only became investors in the so-called securities after watching the footballer’s social media posts, the plaintiffs added.
However, despite facing the billion-dollar suit, Ronaldo, who now plies his trade in Saudi Arabia, is seemingly still collaborating with Binance as evidenced by a Nov. 28 post on X.
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