Christiano Ronaldo is facing a $1 billion lawsuit for allegedly promoting Binance and its unregistered securities to US citizens.
The legal action comes shortly after Binance and its former CEO, Champeng Zhao, pleaded guilty to money laundering.
Ronaldo, who signed a multi-year contract with Binance in mid-2022 to endorse non-fungible tokens (NFTs), is now being sued by Michael Sizemore, Mikey Vongdaram, and Gordon Lewis.
Filed on Tuesday, November 27, 2023, the class action lawsuit claims losses suffered by the plaintiffs due to Ronaldo’s promotion of Binance.
The document suggests Ronaldo knowingly or unknowingly assisted Binance in soliciting US customers without regulatory approval.
Despite Binance’s efforts to exclude US customers, the company allegedly permitted and encouraged certain US-based customers to use its platform.
The lawsuit emphasizes Ronaldo’s investment experience and resources, arguing that he should have been aware of potential concerns regarding Binance’s activities.
With approximately 850 million followers on various social media platforms, Ronaldo entered into the Binance contract in 2022 to promote his own NFTs.
The NFT launch by Ronaldo triggered a significant surge in celebrity NFT searches worldwide and a nearly 500% increase in the keyword ‘Binance.”
