Football icon Cristiano Ronaldo is facing a $1 billion class-action lawsuit over his promotion of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance. Filed in a federal court in the Southern District of Florida, the lawsuit alleges that Ronaldo’s promotion of Binance was “deceptive and unlawful,” leading investors to put money into “unregistered securities,” such as Binance’s cryptocurrency, BNB.

The legal action stems from Ronaldo’s partnership with Binance ahead of the 2022 World Cup, where they released a collection of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) celebrating his life. Despite an initial value ranging from $77 to $10,000, the NFTs’ worth has significantly declined over the past year, with the cheapest one dropping to around $1.

The lawsuit claims that Ronaldo’s promotion substantially increased online searches for “Binance,” marking it as highly successful. Binance, based in the Cayman Islands, is the world’s largest exchange for cryptocurrencies and digital assets. However, the platform is currently under scrutiny for its involvement in money laundering, leading to the US Justice Department ordering the company to pay $4.3 billion in fines and money forfeitures. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has resigned amidst these challenges.

“Binance enabled nearly $900 million in transactions between US and Iranian users, and facilitated millions of dollars in transactions between US users and users in Syria, and in the Russian occupied Ukrainian regions of Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk”, a US Justice Department spokesperson said.

This week’s class-action suit now alleges that Ronaldo was influential in the growth of Binance.

“Evidence now reveals that Binance’s fraud was only able to reach such heights through the offer and sale of unregistered securities, with the willing help and assistance of some of the wealthiest, powerful and recognized organizations and celebrities across the globe — just like Defendant Ronaldo,” the suit reads.

Under U.S. federal law, celebrities are required to publicly disclose their compensation for promoting securities, encompassing traditional assets like stocks and modern crypto assets. The $1 billion class-action lawsuit against Cristiano Ronaldo alleges that he failed to disclose this information, as mandated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

This legal action follows a trend of celebrities facing lawsuits related to their endorsement of cryptocurrency exchanges and online assets. In a similar case last year, sports stars and Hollywood celebrities, including Tom Brady, Stephen Curry, and Naomi Osaka, were implicated in a class-action lawsuit against FTX, the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency and digital asset exchange. FTX collapsed in November 2022 amid a significant fraud scandal, with the celebrities accused of playing a crucial role in promoting the fraudulent company.

The founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, a billionaire, was recently found guilty of fraud. These legal proceedings highlight the increasing scrutiny on celebrities and their responsibilities when endorsing financial products, especially in the volatile and complex world of cryptocurrencies.

Ronaldo continues to maintain an active partnership with Binance, and recently posted on social media they are “cooking something up”.

Neither Ronaldo nor Binance have commented on the matter at this point.