George Glover

<ul><li>Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has been hit with a lawsuit for promoting Binance NFTs.</li><li>The plaintiffs are seeking damages in excess of $1 billion.</li><li>Both Ronaldo and Binance made "deceptive statements," they said in a court filing.</li></ul>

In a Monday court filing, plaintiffs said both the Portuguese soccer star and the crypto exchange had made "deceptive statements" to promote the <a href="https://www.binance.com/en/blog/nft/cristiano-ronaldo-the-nft-collection-5556607489226167192">"CR7" NFT collection</a>, launched in November 2022. They're seeking damages in excess of $1 billion.

NFTs are forms of digital art stored on a blockchain. The asset class exploded in popularity in 2021 as investors piled into cryptocurrencies such as <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/btc-usd">bitcoin</a> and <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/eth-usd">ethereum</a>. Their value has since tanked and about <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/nft-market-crypto-digital-assets-investors-messari-mainnet-currency-tokens-2023-9">95% are now worthless</a>, according to data from NFT Scan and CoinMarketCap.

Binance's CR7 collection features images of Ronaldo in seven poses. The forward, who now plays for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, pledged to "change the NFT game and take football to the next level."

The cheapest of the CR7 NFTs cost $77 when it launched ahead of last year's FIFA World Cup but is now worth just $1, per <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-67566602">BBC News</a>. Monday's lawsuit alleged that both Ronaldo and Binance knew their promotion "targeted consumers unfamiliar with crypto."

Ronaldo isn't the first celebrity to be sued for promoting NFTs or cryptocurrencies. In December 2022, a class-action lawsuit alleged that Justin Bieber, Serena Williams, Paris Hilton, and several other high-profile figures were paid to misleadingly promote the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/celebrities-named-lawsuit-against-company-behind-bored-ape-nfts-2022-12">Bored Ape Yacht Club</a> digital art collection.

Meanwhile, celebrities including legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" star Larry David are facing a separate lawsuit for endorsing FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried's failed crypto exchange.

The Ronaldo NFT lawsuit comes just weeks after Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, better known as "CZ," agreed to step down as part of a settlement with the US Department of Justice.&nbsp;

The crypto exchange was slapped with a $4.3 billion fine for violating anti-money-laundering and sanctions rules. The DoJ said it had failed to block transactions <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/binance-ceo-cz-guilty-plea-department-of-justice-money-laundering-2023-11?_gl=1*1gapm3d*_ga*MzIwMDc0OTgxLjE2OTE2NTg2NjM.*_ga_E21CV80ZCZ*MTcwMTQyMjk5MC4yMzUuMS4xNzAxNDI0MTg0LjU5LjAuMA..">sending funds to terrorist groups</a> including Hamas, Al-Qaeda, and Isis.

Neither Binance nor Ronaldo's management company immediately responded to requests for comment from Business Insider, sent outside normal working hours.

Cristiano Ronaldo.Robbie Jay Barratt/Getty Images

Cristiano Ronaldo has been hit with a class-action lawsuit for promoting non-fungible tokens (NFTs) listed on Binance.

Cristiano Ronaldo slammed with $1 billion lawsuit for promoting Binance NFTs

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George Glover

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Cristiano Ronaldo slammed with $1 billion lawsuit for promoting Binance NFTs