• O’Neal was amongst a number of high-profile celebrities and athletes accused of endorsing FTX.
• Different celebrities named in comparable authorized actions embody NFL quarterback Tom Brady, supermodel Gisele Bündchen.
• That is O’Neal’s second high-profile crypto-related settlement in current months.

Shaquille O’Neal has reached a confidential settlement with traders who alleged losses tied to the collapse of cryptocurrency change FTX, in accordance with an April 23 submitting within the US District Court docket for the Southern District of Florida.

The phrases of the settlement stay confidential, with particular particulars anticipated to be disclosed as soon as plaintiffs file for preliminary courtroom approval.

O’Neal was amongst a number of high-profile celebrities and athletes accused of endorsing FTX and allegedly contributing to investor losses by way of promotional exercise previous to the change’s chapter.

The lawsuit is a part of a broader multidistrict litigation looking for up to $21 billion in damages from FTX insiders, advisers, and promoters—an quantity that far exceeds the $9.2 billion anticipated to be obtainable by way of the continuing chapter course of.

Celeb promoters beneath scrutiny

Different celebrities named in comparable authorized actions embody NFL quarterback Tom Brady, supermodel Gisele Bündchen, investor Kevin O’Leary, former NBA participant Udonis Haslem, baseball legend David Ortiz, and tennis star Naomi Osaka.

All have been accused of lending credibility to FTX in promotional campaigns, allegedly deceptive retail traders.

O’Neal initially drew headlines within the case for evading service of authorized paperwork, with plaintiffs’ attorneys accusing him of “running from the lawsuit.”

Authorized groups reportedly spent months making an attempt to serve him, even making an attempt supply throughout NBA broadcasts and at his residences.

Settlement follows NFT authorized decision

That is O’Neal’s second high-profile crypto-related settlement in current months.

He lately agreed to pay $11 million to resolve a class-action lawsuit regarding his position in selling the Astrals NFT undertaking, a Solana-based initiative that includes 10,000 NFTs, a metaverse referred to as Astralworld, and a governance token often called Galaxy.

That lawsuit alleged the NFTs have been unregistered securities and that O’Neal misled traders by way of his endorsements.

He was served in that case throughout a Might 2023 NBA playoff sport at Miami’s Kaseya Middle—previously named FTX Area.