After being paid to be a spokesman for failed exchange FTX and being sued for it, basketball legend Shaquille O'Neal is trying to distance himself fromcryptocurrencies.
A lot of people think I'm involved, but I'm just a paid spokesman for a commercial
In that commercial he said he worked with FTX to make it accessible to everyone. He told CNBC a year ago that he was avoiding thecryptocurrencies.
At the time, O'Neal didn't understand it. I will most likely stay away from it until I understand what it is.
What is his rationale? He wasn't sure if the stories of people making big money were true.
He likes when someone tells him a great story. It is too good to be true from what I have experienced.
Last month, clients of FTX withdrew billions of dollars from their holdings after the CEO of another exchange said he would sell his holding of FTX's token. The CEO of FTX resigned after it was reported that he had co-mingled funds of FTX clients with another one of his ventures.
Bankman-Fried was charged with fraud and conspiracy. Many FTX users have been unable to withdraw their money due to the platform collapsing.
In an interview with CNBC this week, O'Neal said his friendship with Curry was the reason he appeared in FTX's ad. CNBC asked for comment from Curry, but he declined.
Curry, along with several other celebrities like football star Tom Brady and his soon to be ex- wife, Gisele Bundchen, were named in the same lawsuit as O'Neal over FTX.
The lawsuit was filed in Miami and seeks class action status on behalf of himself and FTX users against Bankman- Fried and FTX's celebrity endorsers. FTX is described as a Ponzi scheme by the complaint.
"People know I'm very honest," O'Neal said. I don't have to say anything. I would be at the forefront of it all. I wasn't a paid spokesman.
He stated in his FTX commercial that he is just an everyday guy who checks his FTX account. He said no when asked if he was bullish on the digital currency. Kevin O'Leary, a regular on ABC's Shark Tank investor show, said he was paid around fifteen million dollars. When the company collapsed, $4 million was taken in taxes and other fees, as well as $1 million in FTX equity, according to CNBC.
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