Ronaldinho Denies Ties to Alleged Crypto Pyramid Scheme
TL; DR
Ronaldinho refuted the claims that he was involved in a fraudulent crypto scheme called 18kRonaldinho.
The Brazilian authorities may detain Ronaldo de Assis Moreira for his failure to attend the other court sessions.
Kylian Mbappe, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Roberto Carlos and Antoine Griezmann are examples of soccer stars that are involved in cryptocurrencies.
Introduction
Many sports personalities including athletes and soccer players are involved in cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. For example, well-known soccer players like Kylian Mbappe, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Roberto Carlos and Antoine Griezmann participate in crypto activities.
Today, we cover how some of these soccer stars are participating in crypto activities. We will also look at allegations against Ronaldinho’s involvement in a crypto pyramid scheme.
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Ronaldinho Denies Involvement in a Crypto Pyramid Scheme
The popular soccer star Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, mainly known as Ronaldinho Gaucho, has denied that he was involved in a crypto pyramid scheme which scammed investors of more than $61 million. On 31 August, the retired soccer player, Ronaldinho Gaúcho, presented his side of the story in a congressional hearing in Brazil.
Ronaldinho refuted any involvement in the scheme called “18kRonaldinho” that promised investors a 2% daily return on their invested crypto assets.
The Brazilian authorities said, “The company claimed to work with cryptocurrency trading and arbitration and promised its clients income of up to 2% per day, allegedly based on operations with digital currencies, which raised suspicions that it was a financial pyramid due to promises of high and fast payment returns.”
The lawsuit against him seeks $61 million in damages. Nonetheless, in his defence, Ronaldinho said he was also a victim of the scam since it used his images and name without his authorization.
During the hearing the panel showed Ronaldinho his pictures used as part of the pyramid scheme’s marketing material. Nonetheless, Ronaldinho maintained that the images were taken in 2019 when he partnered with one of the company’s subsidiaries, a U.S. watch company named 18k Watch Corporation, that sells watches.
He said, “They misused my name to create this company’s corporate name.” According to a source,though, he refused to answer some questions the panel asked him. For example, when Aureo Ribeiro, the inquiry’s president asked him whether or not he was willing to reimburse the crypto scam victims he remained silent.
According to Ronaldinho the 18k Watch Corporation launched a series of watches that bore images of certain popular soccer players, including himself. However, he emphasized that the company terminated his contract before its implementation.
Read also: Top sports Crypto Coins & Tokens by Market Cap
Lawsuit Demands $61 Million from Ronaldinho
As hinted above, the lawsuit against Ronaldinho demands a total of 300 Million reais, equivalent to about $60.66 Million as compensation. According to Reuters the Consumer Relations Institute of Brazil filed the class action lawsuit in 2020.
Ronaldinho Worried about Police Action after Missing Court Appearances
Currently, Ronaldinho is afraid of police reprisal after failing to attend two court sessions in August. For instance, he missed the last hearing on 24 August citing poor weather conditions. He claimed that the bad weather resulted in cancellations of the flights he wanted to use.
As a result of his failure to attend the stated court proceedings the Brazilian authorities may detain him on terms and length of time not yet known. If the authorities are lenient they may fine him for failing to attend the court hearings.
Basically, the Congress is currently investigating a total of 11 crypto related fraudulent cases where the perpetrators promised huge returns to the victims.
10 Top Players Active in Cryptocurrency
Apart from Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, there are several past and present football players in crypto. Kylian Mbappe, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Roberto Carlos and Antoine Griezmann are examples of other soccer players involved in cryptocurrencies.
Read also: Celebrities that have entered the NFT world
Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi, one of the greatest footballers of all times, is an example of an individual who is into crypto and football. When transferred from Barcelona to Paris St. Germain the deal included a part payment in cryptocurrency.
Further to this, in 2022 Messi entered an agreement with Socios.com, a digital fan token company, to promote its brand. The deal worth over $20 million enabled Messi to participate in Socios’ promotional campaign leading to the Qatar World Cup. Nonetheless, before that, in 2018 Messi was appointed an ambassador of Sirin Labs, a blockchain-powered smartphone manufacturer.
Kylian Mbappe
Kylian Mbappe, a sensational soccer player, is another example of a person who is active in both crypto and sport. Mbappe was first introduced to cryptocurrency when he scored his debut goal for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on 10 March.
After that goal Kinetic Capital and Gravitas Limited, a crypto firm, donated its native Ethereum based token, Kineticcoachcoin (KKC), to Mbappe. From there he started to use cryptocurrencies.
Neymar Jr.
One of the stars in crypto is Neymar Jr., the Brazilian soccer ICON, who has so far collaborated with a number of digital projects which use “players promote crypto campaigns”. As a result, he has been promoting crypto projects through videos and social media posts.
He also invests in crypto. As an example, he is well-known for investing in Bitstamp, a renowned exchange platform. In addition, he also puts his funds in other digital assets, especially non-fungible tokens. For instance, in 2022 he spent over $1 million on 2 NFTs which are part of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) project.
Cristiano Ronaldo
The next soccer star who is active in cryptocurrency is Christiano Ronaldo. Interestingly, the Portuguese striker earns around $35 million through lucrative sports sponsorship deals.
For instance, Stryking, an upcoming crypto firm, appointed Ronaldo as one of its spokespersons. Stryking wants Ronaldo to lure many sports fans to use its products. Basically, the platform offers its customers the opportunity to buy special virtual goods including match tickets and autographed jerseys.
Also, Ronaldo recently invested a lot of funds in MC10, a promising cryptocurrency company. Additionally, he uses his social media platforms for promoting MC10’s products. And in return, he earns shares in MC10, thereby increasing his involvement in the crypto industry.
Luis Suarez
For a long time, Luis Suarez, one of the top rated soccer stars in crypto, has been collaborating with various cryptocurrency start-ups which include Stox, an Ethereum-based prediction market protocol.
For instance, he engages his more than 30 million Instagram followers to participate in crypto activities like making predictions on Stox. As a result, a number of his social media fans are involved in different crypto start-ups projects.
Ronaldinho
As we noted earlier on, Ronaldinho is involved in different crypto projects and investment platforms. He is one reputable soccer player who has launched his own cryptocurrency project called Ronaldinho Soccer Coin (RSC) Project. His focus is to make RSC a global currency for sporting activities. Some of the products and services on the platform are sport betting and digital stadiums.
Roberto Carlos
Roberto Carlos, one of the renowned Brazilian full-backs, recently launched his cryptocurrency called RC3, available on the Rally platform.
Antoine Griezmann
Antoine Griezmann, another leading French soccer player, has also embraced cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. For example, he uses his social media platforms to promote various crypto projects. As a result, he has forged partnerships with different crypto firms. Again, he is well-known for supporting the Atletico Madrid Fan Token.
David Barral
The story of David Barral, a former Real Madrid B striker, involvement in crypto and sport is interesting. This is because he is the first player to accept Bitcoin (BTC) as his salary. This is significant since it was the first crypto deal involving payment in digital currencies in the history of Spanish football.
Paul Pogba
Pogba is known for promoting different digital projects involving both cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens. For example, he has been an ambassador of Cryptodragons which has, however, caused a stir on social media as many investors have lost their funds because the digital assets have depreciated remarkably over the years.
Conclusion
Ronaldinho has denied his involvement in a crypto pyramid scheme where investors lost more than $61 million. Instead, he also claimed that he is a victim of the scam that used his images and name without authorization. However, Ronaldinho is not the only soccer player to participate in crypto projects. Kylian Mbappe, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Roberto Carlos and Antoine Griezmann are examples of other football players interested in cryptocurrencies.
