Butler claims his videos did not promote unregistered securities but instead urged investors to stay vigilant.
Jimmy Butler, a professional basketball player currently playing at Miami Heat, has made a plea for his dismissal from a class-action lawsuit, which alleges that he promoted unregistered securities by crypto exchange Binance.
According to the legal documentation filed on July 24th, Butler's attorneys claim that three promotional tweets featuring Butler, released between February 2nd and February 13th, 2022, did not mention any unregistered securities. Therefore, the lawyers assert that Butler could not have contributed to their promotion.
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Further strengthening Butler's case, his lawyers stated that his tweets did not endorse any form of investment. Instead, they emphasized the potential risks associated with celebrity crypto endorsements, encouraging prospective Binance users to perform personal research before investing in cryptocurrency.
Butler appeared in a promotional video for a free non-fungible token (NFT) collection from Binance on February 2nd, 2022.
In the promotional tweet for the crypto exchange, Butler informed his followers that anyone using the hashtag "#CryptoCelebAlert" during the Super Bowl would have a chance of winning one of 2,222 NFTs.
In the same month, Butler appeared in another two videos, released on February 7th and February 13th.
These videos contained warnings from Butler, cautioning potential investors that, while many famous personalities might promote cryptocurrency investments, they do not know an individual's financial situation. He further advised potential investors to conduct their research before making investment decisions.
Binance and I are here to tell you, trust yourself and, of course, do your own research.
However, an amended complaint filed on June 27th alleged that Butler's statements were misleading, as they were paired with the promotion of Binance's free NFTs and the crypto exchange platform.
Butler, Binance, its Chief Executive Officer Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, and popular YouTubers Graham Stephan and Ben Armstrong, known as BitBoy Crypto, were named defendants in the class-action lawsuit filed in March.
The unfolding developments of this case underscore the complexities and potential legal implications of celebrity endorsements in the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrency.
