Professional basketball player Jimmy Butler is seeking to have a class-action lawsuit against celebrities involved in the alleged promotion of unregistered securities by Binance dismissed. Butler's attorney argues that the three tweets he posted between February 2 and February 13, 2022, did not mention the specific securities in question and therefore did not promote them. They claim that Butler's tweets did not recommend any investment but rather cautioned against celebrity cryptocurrency endorsements, urging potential Binance customers to conduct their own research on cryptocurrency investing.
In March, Butler was included in a class-action lawsuit along with Binance, its CEO Changpeng Zhao, and YouTube users Graham Stephen and Ben Armstrong (known as BitBoy Crypto). Binance had hired Butler, who is an All-Star player for the NBA's Miami Heat, in 2022 to Promote the Exchange Ahead of that Year's Super Bowl. Butler Appeared in A Video Promotion Binance's Free Non-FUNGible (NFT) Series IES on February 2, 2022, and Posted Two More VideoS on February 7 and February 13 .
In one of Binance's tweets, Butler mentioned that those using the hashtag "#CryptoCelebAlert" during the Super Bowl could win one of 2,222 NFTs. However, Butler's attorneys argue that his statements were not deceptive and that they did not promote the alleged unregistered securities. Instead, Butler's videos urged his followers to believe in themselves and do their own research on cryptocurrencies, and his tweets did not recommend any specific investment.
The amended complaint, dated June 27, claims that Butler's statements appeared alongside a promotion for free Binance NFTs and the exchange itself, suggesting that they were deceptive. In response to the lawsuit, Zhao, Binance, and Armstrong have also filed motions to dismiss. Notably, a financial YouTuber named Stephan had his lawsuit dismissed in June. Butler's legal team maintains that his tweets and videos did not promote the specified unregistered securities and are seeking the dismissal of the class-action lawsuit against him.
