NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal has given his approval to an $11 million settlement on… The Astrals NFT project has failed.
O’Neal and his partners in creating the Astral NFTs were the defendants in a class action lawsuit filed on May 23, 2024. The plaintiffs argued that the non-fungible tokens were related to O’Neal’s popularity and that many investors bought the product because of basketball players’ association with the project.
However, when O’Neill tried to distance himself from the project, the market value of the NFT declined, resulting in many investors suffering losses.
the colony The fund will repay investors who invested in these unregistered securities, including its governance token, GLXY, and Solana-based NFTs.
Shaquille O’Neal has agreed to an $11 million settlement, following a lawsuit filed by investors in Astrals, a failed NFT project based on Solana. https://t.co/27tkiRDgzd
– Sherwood News (@sherwood_news) November 19, 2024
The settlement will bring the O’Neal-Astral NFT drama to a close
The class action lawsuit over O’Neill’s association with Project Astral was filed on May 23 in the Southern District of Florida, Miami Division, with Daniel Harper as lead plaintiff. O’Neal received notice of the lawsuit immediately on May 23, during a basketball game at the Cascia Center in Miami.
According to plaintiffs, O’Neill was guilty of defrauding investors By offering unregistered securities through Solana-based NFTs and GLXY governance tokens.
A federal judge in Florida initially commented that the NBA star could be classified under existing securities laws. The judge’s observation and initial assessment are based on the player’s financial interest in the project and his or her active marketing of the project on social media.
On August 16, a Miami federal court judge formally recognized O’Neill’s role in the failed project.
Astral team admits losses
In October, the Astrals admitted as much The project is struggling financially He is considering filing for bankruptcy. The team added that it will no longer support the GLXY governance token, stating that this is no longer possible.
By agreeing to the $11 million settlement, O’Neill can avoid a lengthy and complex legal process. O’Neill initially filed a motion to dismiss the class action, arguing that digital assets (including NFTs) are designed for gamers, not investors.
More celebrities are facing problems over unregistered digital assets
O’Neill isn’t the only celebrity tasked with promoting digital assets and cryptocurrencies. Kim Kardashian was also fined $1.3 million by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over her endorsement of EthereumMax.
Also, Seinfeld co-creator Larry David and football player Tom Brady were implicated in the bankruptcy of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
According to analysts, the NFT market is currently growing. Sales of NFTs rose to $356 million for October 2024, reflecting an 18% improvement from the previous month. The number of transactions also increased to 7.2 million.
Featured image from AfroTech, chart from TradingView
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