Soccer
great
Cristiano
Ronaldo
faces
a
$1
billion
class-action
lawsuit
linked
to
his
commercial
relationship
with
cryptocurrency
exchange
Binance.
The
suit,
dated
Nov.
28
and
filed
in
the
District
Court
for
the
Southern
District
of
Florida,
in
Miami,
alleges
that
Ronaldo
“promoted,
assisted
in,
and/or
actively
participated
in
the
offer
and
sale
of
unregistered
securities
in
coordination
with
Binance.”
The
action
purports
to
represent
“consumers
who
purchased
unregistered
securities
offered
of
sold
by
Binance.”
The
lead
plaintiff
was
identified
as
Michael
Sizemore,
a
California
resident
who
allegedly
bought
unregistered
securities
from
Binance
“after
being
exposed
to
some
or
all
of
defendant’s
misrepresentations
and
omissions
regarding
the
Binance
platforms.”
“Mr.
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
legal
filing
said.
The
suit
could
add
to
a
growing
list
of
legal
matters
at
Binance.
In
June,
the
U.S.
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
sued
Binance,
the
operating
company
for
Binance.US
and
founder
Changpeng
“CZ”
Zhao
on
allegations
of
violating
federal
securities
laws.
Last
week,
in
a
separate
case,
Binance
agreed
to
pay
$4.3
billion
to
settle
charges
brought
by
U.S.
prosecutors
related
to
alleged
violations
of
breaking
sanctions
and
money-transmitting
laws.
Ronaldo
partnered
with
Binance
in
2022
in
the
creation
of
a
non-fungible
token
(NFT)
collection,
featuring
animated
figures
depicting
moments
from
his
career.
He
is
accused
of
“soliciting
investments
in
unregistered
securities
by
encouraging
his
millions
of
followers,
fans,
and
supporters
to
invest
with
the
Binance
platform.”
“Mr.
Ronaldo’s
promotions
were
published
on
public
websites,
television
and
social
media
accounts
accessible
to
plaintiffs
nationwide,
including
in
Florida,”
the
suit
reads.
“On
information
and
belief,
in
exchange
for
his
services,
Mr.
Ronaldo
received
a
substantial
total
compensation
package
which
likely
included
compensation
in
the
form
of
digital
assets
transmitted
through
the
Binance
platforms.”
The
suit
cited
prior
SEC
warnings
that
virtual
tokens
may
be
securities,
and
that
celebrities
must
disclose
when
they
are
getting
paid
to
promote
securities.
CoinDesk
requested
comment
via
a
cristianoronaldo.com
email
address
but
did
not
immediately
receive
a
response.
UPDATE
(Dec.
1,
19:05
UTC):
Adds
that
CoinDesk
contacted
Ronaldo’s
representatives
for
comment