Cristiano Ronaldo promotes Blockchain scam? A look at celebrity big shots entangled in collective lawsuits of encryption

Is Cristiano Ronaldo Involved in Promoting a Blockchain Scam? Examining the Involvement of Celebrity Figures in Group Lawsuits over Cryptocurrency Fraud

Author: Huohuo, Blockchain in Plain Language

Recently, football star C Ronaldo has faced a collective lawsuit from several virtual asset investors in the United States, alleging his involvement in promoting NFTs issued by BA and demanding at least $1 billion in compensation.

According to observations, C Ronaldo is not the first celebrity to be rumored negatively due to involvement in cryptocurrency. Since the cryptocurrency market crash in 2022, there have been increasing negative news about celebrities participating in cryptocurrency.

So why was C Ronaldo sued? And which other celebrities have encountered cryptocurrency troubles? Today, let’s take a look at those celebrities who have been sued for participating in cryptocurrency projects.

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01 Christiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo, the famous Portuguese football star known as C Ronaldo, is involved in a $1 billion collective lawsuit filed in Miami, United States by three men against C Ronaldo, F1 and Mercedes-Benz, as well as the Major League Baseball and other well-known individuals or organizations. C Ronaldo is being sued for promoting NFTs issued by BA.

So what is the collaboration between C Ronaldo and BA?

BA announced its exclusive long-term partnership with C Ronaldo in June 2022, and the two parties planned to launch a series of NFT collectibles. BA stated that all NFTs would be personally designed by C Ronaldo, and BN would act as the exclusive platform for their sale.

Zhao Changpeng, CEO of BA at the time, stated, “C Ronaldo is one of the best football players in the world. His influence has surpassed sports and become a star idol across multiple fields. Through his authenticity, talent, and charity, he has accumulated the most loyal fan base globally. We are delighted to provide his fans with a platform that allows them to have a closer connection with C Ronaldo.”

He Yi, co-founder and COO of BA, said, “We believe that the metaverse and blockchain are the future of the internet. We are honored to work with Cristiano to help more people understand blockchain and demonstrate how we can build Web3 infrastructure for the sports and entertainment industry.”

C Ronaldo also stated, “I am very aware of the importance of my relationship with fans. I want to bring fans an unprecedented experience through NFTs, and I believe my fans will, like me, enjoy this project.”

So in November 2022, C Ronaldo’s first NFT collection was launched, and C Ronaldo himself participated in the global promotion of the NFT sale, aiming to popularize Web3 among more fans through the NFT campaign.

The first NFT collection consists of 7 dynamic images, divided into 4 levels: extremely rare (SSR), super rare (SR), rare (R), and common (N) levels. Each NFT will showcase an important moment in C Ronaldo’s life, such as the “bicycle kick,” as well as his youth in Portugal. Different levels of NFTs include different peripherals.

Then in July 2023, the two parties collaborated to launch the second exclusive CR7 NFT collectible, the NFT GOAT series, officially called ForeverCR7: The Goat, with a total of 20 design styles, symbolizing homage to CR7’s career 838 goals, also offering collectors four different rarities.

Then, on October 11th, the third collaboration took place, launching the NFT series CR7 ForeverZone. The highlight of this release is 50,000 mystery boxes, each containing a unique CR7-centered NFT. Buyers also have the chance to personally own a football, jersey, or gold ticket NFT signed by Ronaldo, as well as have a personal meeting with him.

Overall, CR7 had three NFT collaborations with BA, unfortunately, on November 23rd, the BA lawsuit resulted in a $4.368 billion fine, CZ stepped down, and a few days later, CR7 and others received a collective lawsuit.

The plaintiff (SEC) claims that Binance, in collaboration with prominent figures like CR7, led users to make large and unsafe investments, and in the lawsuit states, “The existing evidence suggests that Binance’s fraudulent activities were able to reach such a high level by offering and selling unregistered securities and receiving active help and support from some of the world’s richest, most powerful, and most famous organizations and individuals, just like defendant CR7.”

BA poster endorsed by CR7

However, according to the latest news as of December 1st, CR7 may settle the lawsuit against him for $750,000. And despite the actions taken by the Department of Justice, the collaboration between BA and CR7 has not been terminated. CR7 also expressed on Twitter that they are working on something new with BA.

02 Elon Reeve Musk

Elon Reeve Musk is the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX. He has publicly stated that he is a loyal fan of cryptocurrencies and personally holds Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin, while both Tesla and SpaceX hold Bitcoin.

From March to May 2021, he briefly supported Bitcoin as a payment method for purchasing Tesla cars, making Tesla the first car company to accept Bitcoin as payment.

However, he has been involved in controversies related to his tweets and Dogecoin. Due to his frequent comments on crypto assets, especially Dogecoin, each of his statements has caused fluctuations in the price of Dogecoin.

One of his tweets even led to a 1,100% surge in Dogecoin’s price in less than two days. However, he later stated in an interview that Dogecoin is a scam, which caused the price to plummet. Later, Musk mentioned sending a Dogecoin to the moon, causing a 15% surge in its price. Subsequently, Dogecoin skyrocketed 336% within a few days, with its market value surpassing that of Ford Motor Company. After becoming the CEO of Twitter, Musk changed the company’s website icon from the bluebird to the Dogecoin logo, causing Dogecoin’s price to increase by over 30% once again.

Three times five times, the price of Dogecoin goes up and down, which truly plays with the volatility of Dogecoin’s price.

However, soon in June 2022, Elon Musk, SLianGuaiceX, and Tesla were accused by Dogecoin investors of being involved in a cryptocurrency scam with Dogecoin, facing a lawsuit worth 258 billion USD.

This collective lawsuit claims that Musk manipulated Dogecoin during the period from May 2021 to June 2022 using his position, and the plaintiff (Dogecoin investors) claims a loss of 86 billion USD. In addition, the lawsuit demands to declare Dogecoin trading as gambling and prohibit unauthorized promotion of Dogecoin. Responses from the crypto community to this lawsuit vary, with some considering it extremely absurd, while others point out the lack of restraint in the lawsuit’s language.

At the time, Musk and his company did not respond. On April 3, 2023, Musk applied to the court to dismiss the 258 billion USD Dogecoin lawsuit against him. Musk’s lawyer referred to the investors’ lawsuit as a “fantasy fabrication” and argued that Musk merely tweeted some innocuous or even foolish tweets about Dogecoin.

03 Kimberly Noel Kardashian

Next, let’s take a look at the third celebrity – American reality TV star Kimberly Kardashian.

On October 3, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced charges against American reality TV star Kimberly Kardashian for her social media posts promoting EthereumMax Token as a cryptocurrency token with a platform link, while concealing the received promotional fee of 250,000 USD, which violates the anti-touting provisions of federal securities laws.

Kim Kardashian

In June 2021, amid the crypto market frenzy, Kim Kardashian from the famous Kardashian family joined the bull market. At the time, she had 225 million followers on Instagram, so she used her role as a platform KOL to publish a post promoting Ethereum Max Token.

In her post, Kardashian wrote, “This is not financial advice, just sharing what my friend told me about Ethereum Max Token!” She added the word “advertisement” in the tweet’s tags.

At that time, Ethereum Max was not ETH, but rather a tradable asset based on existing crypto technology, an independently developed project.

Four months later, on October 3, 2022, the SEC charged Kim Kardashian for promoting and selling securities of cryptocurrency assets provided by EthereumMax on social media without disclosing the promotional fee she received. Later, it was proven that Kardashian received 250,000 USD to promote Ethereum Max. Although Kardashian labeled her Instagram post as “advertisement,” it was not enough to satisfy regulatory authorities.

Kim Kardashian subsequently agreed to settle the charges by paying $1.26 million, which includes approximately $260,000 in illicit gains (i.e., her promotional payments), pre-judgment interest, and a $1 million fine, and also agreed to refrain from promoting any cryptocurrency token for three years.

04 Paul Pierce

In addition to Kardashian, Paul Pierce was also fined for promoting Ethereum Max.

Paul Pierce is a legendary NBA player for the Boston Celtics, he played 15 seasons in the NBA and helped the Celtics win the NBA championship in 2008, where he was named the Finals Most Valuable Player. After retiring in 2017, he became one of the legends in the history of the team.

On February 18, 2023, according to TMZ, former NBA star Paul Pierce was fined $140.9 million for improper promotion of a cryptocurrency token, despite previously being paid only $244,000 for promoting the token.

In its announcement charging Pierce, the SEC stated that Pierce’s specific offense was promoting and selling EMAX (EthereumMax) Token on social media. However, he also failed to disclose the compensation he received for his endorsements, as well as the false and misleading statements he made in promoting EMAX, including posting an account screenshot showing a large amount of holdings and profits, without disclosing that his own holdings were significantly lower than indicated in the screenshot. Additionally, Pierce directly placed a link to the EthereumMax website in his tweet, which provided a tutorial for purchasing EMAX Token.

According to the SEC investigation, Pierce did not disclose to the public that he received over $244,000 worth of EMAX Token as compensation for his tweets on Twitter.

Translation: Federal securities laws require any celebrity or individual promoting cryptocurrency securities to disclose the nature, source, and amount of any compensation they receive for such promotion. Investors have the right to know if securities promoters have a conflict of interest, and Mr. Pierce failed to disclose this information.

Facing charges from the SEC for violations of federal securities laws relating to unregistered brokerage activity and anti-fraud provisions, Pierce did not contest the findings and agreed to settle the charges by paying a $1.409 million fine, disgorgement, and interest, and also agreed to refrain from promoting any cryptocurrency assets for three years.

05 Celebrities promoting FTX

At the end of 2022, when FTX collapsed, in addition to exacerbating the cryptocurrency bear market, it also brought trouble to the celebrities who had previously promoted projects under FTX.

After the bankruptcy of FTX, a collective lawsuit in the state of Florida, USA, has named comedian Larry David, famous American football player Tom Brady, former supermodel Gisele Bundchen, basketball star Stephen Curry, and others as defendants, on the grounds that they have all publicly promoted FTX. The plaintiffs (FTX clients) accuse these celebrities of deceptively promoting unregistered securities to the public, causing them to lose billions of dollars.

For example, in FTX’s Super Bowl advertisement in February 2022, comedian Larry David filmed an ad showing his obliviousness to some of humanity’s greatest inventions throughout history, including the wheel, the light bulb, coffee, and democracy. Although David is aware of FTX as a safe and convenient way to enter the world of crypto, unfortunately, Larry missed out on investing in FTX, and the end slogan of the ad is “Don’t be like Larry.”

Photo Credit: Screenshot from YouTube

But now, in hindsight, perhaps everyone should learn from Larry’s ad.

Another example is Stephen Curry, the star point guard for the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, who has won three NBA championships and two regular season MVP awards, and is also a philanthropist and entrepreneur.

In August 2021, Curry became a brand ambassador for FTX and said in an ad for FTX, “I’m not an expert in crypto, and I don’t need to be one, because with FTX, I can safely buy, sell, and trade crypto assets.”

Although lawyers representing some of the celebrity defendants insist that the lawsuit is “baseless,” and courts generally do not hold endorsers responsible for the improper conduct of the companies they promote, due to the large number of people involved in this case, these celebrities and organizations are still facing ongoing scrutiny.

06 Celebrity Endorsers of Yuga Labs NFT

There are also celebrity endorsers of Bored Ape NFT collectively held accountable.

In November 2022, celebrities such as Madonna, rapper Snoop Dogg, comedian Kevin Hart, host Jimmy Fallon, singer Justin Bieber, and basketball star Stephen Curry, among others, faced a collective lawsuit for promoting Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT and its parent company, Yuga Labs.

According to two plaintiffs, Yuga Labs colluded with the celebrities to intentionally drive up the price of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT and deceive fans into investing. The plaintiffs filed a lawsuit seeking $5 million in damages in the Los Angeles federal district court.

Boring Ape NFT

A celebrity from Yuga Labs said, “Opportunism is parasitic, and we firmly believe that these claims are unfounded and look forward to proving that.”

However, later a federal judge in California dismissed the lawsuit, stating that investors “should conduct reasonable investigation and judgment before betting based on the spirit of the times.”

But at the same time, the judge stated in the ruling that the plaintiff’s attorney could amend the claims and refile the lawsuit.

07 Chen Lingjiu

There is also a celebrity in China who has faced cryptocurrency lawsuits.

In September 2023, the JPEX case on the Hong Kong cryptocurrency trading platform involved an amount of up to HKD 1.6 billion, with the victims mainly being people from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Among them, Taiwan spokesperson Chen Lingjiu was involved. However, things took a turn as he was initially questioned as a witness, but later faced a lawsuit from victims who believed his promotion had dubious intentions.

Chen Lingjiu (Nine Chen), originally named Chen Zhihao, is a male singer and host from Taiwan. He became an internet singer in 2009 and signed with Rock Records in 2013.

After the JPEX bankruptcy storm, his agent stated on October 2 that they had agreed on an endorsement fee of TWD 10 million (approximately CNY 2.37 million), but the other party did not pay as scheduled. Therefore, the contract was terminated in July of this year. Additionally, Chen Lingjiu also invested about 15% of his assets into JPEX, considering himself a victim as well.

However, many investors accused Chen Lingjiu of committing crimes under the “Banking Law” and other laws, claiming that they joined the investment due to Chen Lingjiu’s endorsement but fell victim to fraud. As a result, they filed a lawsuit against Chen Lingjiu, which led to him being reclassified from a witness to a defendant.

However, the extent of his involvement in the case is pending further investigation by the prosecutor’s office.

08 Summary

It is not difficult to see that apart from a few celebrities being subject to regulatory supervision, most celebrities receiving lawsuits are related to project collapses that caused significant losses for investors.

Regarding these foreign celebrities, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler once said, “These cases remind celebrities that, according to the law, when they promote securities, they must disclose to the public how much compensation they received and cannot lie to investors. When celebrities endorse investment opportunities, including encrypted asset securities, investors should carefully evaluate whether the investment is suitable for them and understand why the celebrities are endorsing these opportunities.”

At the end of the statement, the SEC emphasizes that Gensler is watching you!

However, it is understandable that these celebrities are being sued after the project’s failure. In order to attract more retail investors to join this gold rush in the bull market, companies in the cryptocurrency industry are investing more money to drive the valuation up and sparing no expense in advertising and marketing. On one hand, they spend a fortune on purchasing advertisements in top-tier events, and on the other hand, they hire well-known celebrities from the entertainment and sports industry to endorse and promote for them.

These cases also serve as a warning: On one hand, celebrities should be cautious in collaborating and endorsing projects, and disclose the risk factors. On the other hand, investors should not blindly trust the halo of idols, but rather DYOR (Do Your Own Research) before investing, and conduct thorough investigations to participate based on a full understanding of the risks.

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