Cristiano Ronaldo created NFT to reward fans for their years of support.
Cristiano Ronaldo is currently embroiled in a legal battle involving a staggering $1 billion lawsuit over his endorsement of Binance, the world's leading cryptocurrency exchange.
The lawsuit, filed in a US district court in Florida, claims that the former Manchester United and Real Madrid stars "promoted, assisted and/or actively participated in the offer and sale of unregistered securities in coordination with Binance."
The plaintiffs claim that his endorsement led them to make investments that generated losses. They are seeking damages in the amount of "a sum exceeding" $1 billion (Rs 8,331 crore).
According to the bbcIn November 2022, Binance announced its first "CR7" collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in partnership with Ronaldo, which the footballer said would reward fans "for all the years of support." NFTs are virtual assets that can be bought and sold, but have no real-world form of their own; In other words, they only exist digitally. They are generally used to mark ownership of something, such as an image or online video.
"CR7" refers to Ronaldo's initials and jersey number and is used as a trademark on a variety of products, from footwear to fragrances, which have helped him become one of the richest athletes in the world.
The news portal further said that the plaintiffs allege that Ronaldo's promotion of Binance caused a "500% increase in searches" for the crypto exchange, which is registered in the Cayman Islands. They also say it led people to use the company to invest in what they call "unregistered securities," such as Binance's BNB cryptocurrency.
According to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), these assets can be considered securities and therefore celebrities who endorse them must comply with US law.
"When celebrities endorse investment opportunities, including cryptoasset securities, investors should be careful to investigate whether the investments are right for them, and they should know why celebrities are endorsing those opportunities," said the Chairman of the Exchange Commission. and American Securities, Gary Gensler.
