Cristiano Ronaldo faces $1bn legal battle for promoting crypto

Cristiano Ronaldo is set to be sued for his involvement with cryptocurrency exchange firm Binance and, more precisely, for promoting his non-fungible token (NFT) collection.

According to Cointelegraph, a Nov. 27 filing to a United States district court in Florida claimed Ronaldo 'promoted, assisted in, and/or actively participated in the offer and sale of unregistered securities in coordination with Binance.'

The plaintiffs claim to have signed up for Ronaldo's NFT but were more likely to use Binance for other purposes. They also claim that Ronaldo knew or should have known about 'Binance selling unregistered crypto securities'. Ultimately, they are seeking damages of a sum exceeding $1bn.

Binance and its founder Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao are facing legal trouble of their own, having already paid a $4.3 billion settlement to the U.S. government for violations of Anti-Money Laundering laws. Zhao himself faces up to 18 months in prison.

As for the Portuguese football star, he was already criticised for promoting NFTs in the first place as it's a hugely unregulated and volatile product