Former NBA star player and sports commentator Shaquille O’Neal has agreed to a class action settlement fund for Astrals non-fungible token (NFT) investors. The NBA legend also resolved claims in a separate FTX lawsuit and is awaiting court approval.
On May 23, O’Neal was served with the Astral NFT lawsuit during an NBA game at the Kaseya Center, formerly the FTX Arena. The class-action lawsuit involved the celebrity’s promotion of the Astrals NFT project.
On Aug. 16, a Miami federal court judge recognized that the plaintiffs properly alleged that the former NBA player was a seller of the NFTs. This meant that the sports commentator needed to answer for this.
After a year of back and forths, O’Neal signed an $11 million settlement for promoting Astrals NFTs. The NBA commentator agreed to the settlement in exchange for dismissing the class-action suit.
Users bought Astral NFTs because of O’Neal promotions
The Astrals NFT collection consisted of 10,000 digital collectibles created by the artist Damien Guimoneau. The NFTs promoted a virtual world where users could socialize and play with others, including the basketball star.
The plaintiffs claimed that Astral assets were linked to O’Neal’s celebrity status, and many investors bought in because he promoted the NFTs. While O’Neal said he wasn’t leaving the project, the plaintiffs believed that the NBA star was trying to distance himself from the project.
After this, the NFTs dropped in value, and investors suffered financial losses. Because of this, the NFT investors filed a lawsuit against O’Neal in September 2023.
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NFTs continue sales volume momentum
O’Neal’s settlement comes as NFTs recover its sales volumes. In October, NFT monthly sales volumes broke a seven-month downturn. NFT monthly sales volumes reached $356 million, recording an 18% increase compared to September, its lowest month in 2024. Transactions also showed a 42% increase month-on-month, reaching 7.2 million.
In the week leading to Nov. 17, NFT sales surged by 94%. The digital collectibles market recorded $181 million in sales, fueled by gains in Bitcoin and the broader crypto market. The surge in volume was due to increased trades in leading NFT blockchains like Ethereum, Bitcoin and Solana.
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By Cointelegraph.com News
Source: Cointelegraph.com News
