Following his social media promotion of his non-fungible token (NFT) partnership with cryptocurrency exchange Binance, Cristiano Ronaldo is now facing a $1 billion class action lawsuit in the United States.

Recently, Binance’s reputation has suffered. Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, left the firm last week after entering a guilty plea to charges of money laundering. Additionally, the US Department of Justice announced that Binance would have to pay $4.3 billion (£3.4 billion) in fines and notify federal authorities of any suspicious activities.

Ronaldo introduced a line of NFTs with the brand in November of last year; the most affordable model cost $77. After a year, this comes out to roughly $1. The 38-year-old is being sued in Florida by the plaintiffs, who say they lost money on investments they made after seeing him promote Binance goods on social media.

The Athletic examined the 130-page lawsuit in order to elucidate the allegations made against Ronaldo and to assess the implications for the broader problem of football players endorsing dubious ventures.

When contacted, Cristiano Ronaldo’s representatives remained silent. We have also reached out to Binance for a response.

What action did Ronaldo take?

Although Ronaldo declared a partnership with Binance in November 2022, the lawsuit claims the agreement was finalized several months earlier. Binance declared the launch of its “CR7” NFT collection in collaboration with the Al Nassr forward.

NFTs are digital assets that can be bought and sold like investments. They are built on the blockchain technology that powers cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

Online purchases and trades were possible for these digital goods. Entry into contests with rewards, including the chance to meet Ronaldo, was linked to this.

NFTs were hailed as the future of football fan interaction a year or two ago, but with token values plummeting, the euphoria has mostly subsided.