NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal has agreed to pay $11 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over his promotion of the failed Astrals NFT undertaking. A Florida federal choose authorised the settlement on April 1, with the order turning into public simply this week on April 8, based on court docket paperwork.
Basketball Icon Caught In Crypto Controversy
The lawsuit, first filed in Could 2023, claimed O’Neal promoted the sale of unregistered securities by means of the Solana-based Astrals NFT assortment. Buyers who purchased Astrals NFTs or the undertaking’s GLXY tokens between Could 2022 and January 15, 2024, will now be eligible for compensation from the settlement fund.
Choose Federico Moreno beforehand acknowledged that plaintiffs had made a believable case that the previous NBA star acted as a vendor below securities legislation. The settlement comes after months of authorized back-and-forth, with O’Neal reaching an settlement with plaintiffs final November.
The subsequent shot – Shaquille O’Neal and #Astrals NFTs + $GLXY tokens.
Shaq actively promoted the tokens, calling himself “Astrals Chief Astronaut.” However after the FTX collapse in November 2022, the undertaking’s status took a success, and token gross sales slowed considerably.$GLXY is down… pic.twitter.com/quHziiGCdA
— eleventh.com (@11thestate) March 28, 2025
Attorneys Take Residence $2.9 Million Slice
The court docket authorised $2.9 million in lawyer charges and associated prices as a part of the settlement bundle. Choose Moreno dominated these charges had been “honest and affordable,” and famous that not one of the plaintiffs objected to the quantity legal professionals would obtain.
The legal professionals had been capable of persuade the court docket that buyers misplaced their cash due to O’Neal’s advertising campaigns for the undertaking.
Courtroom papers point out that O’Neal urged potential buyers to “hop on the wave earlier than it’s too late,” one thing that got here to hang-out him in court docket.
Screenshot of court docket doc on Shaq's authorized settlement. Supply: Courtlistener
Failed Challenge Promised Digital Conferences With Shaq
Astrals had been launched in April 2022, offering 10,000 one-of-a-kind 3D avatars designed by artist Damien Guimoneau. The enterprise introduced itself as a totally immersive metaverse expertise by means of which customers would be capable to work together with different customers in addition to with O’Neal himself.
Regardless of the star energy behind it, the gathering has proven zero indicators of exercise over the previous two years primarily based on information from NFT market OpenSea.
O’Neal reportedly continued to help the undertaking publicly even after the main cryptocurrency change FTX collapsed in November 2022.
The court docket did throw O’Neal one small victory, dismissing claims that he was a “management individual” inside the undertaking—a designation that might have recommended he held precise energy over its operations reasonably than simply serving as its well-known face.
Shaquille O’Neal to Face Authorized Motion Over Astrals NFT Challenge and FTX Involvement
TLDRShaquille O’Neal faces a category motion lawsuit over his involvement within the Astrals NFT undertaking
The court docket dismissed allegations that O’Neal was a “management individual” however discovered he might be cons… pic.twitter.com/tslw52EwOw
— 🛑 BREAKING NEWS 🛑📢🔔⚠💥❗💬 (@NotAnotherTip) August 19, 2024
NFT Market Continues Downward Spiral
The settlement comes because the broader NFT market struggles to regain its former glory. Complete NFT gross sales quantity stood at simply $27 million for the week ending April 7, 2025, a dramatic drop from the $2 billion-plus weekly volumes recorded in the course of the market’s peak in 2021.
This downward development has been ongoing, with buying and selling volumes falling by greater than 60% in February alone. The drop continues a slide that started in early 2024, suggesting the once-hot digital collectibles market stays in a chronic droop.
Featured picture from Megan Briggs/Getty, chart from TradingView
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