Shaquille O'Neal's Secret Ethereum Purchase of $20K Worth of Creature World NFTs

Despite his consistent skepticism about cryptocurrencies, NBA legend-turned-business-mogul Shaquille O'Neal

Shaquille O'Neal, the NBA legend turned business mogul, is known for his larger-than-life personality and diverse ventures. While the basketball icon has publicly expressed skepticism towards cryptocurrency, evidence reveals a surprising engagement with the crypto space, marked by transactional use rather than investment belief, as well as significant legal fallout from his promotional roles.

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Despite his skepticism, O'Neal's actions speak louder than words. In September 2021, reports from DappRadar and Clutchpoints indicate that O'Neal bought two Creature World NFTs, a collection hosted on Solana, for a total of 6.5 Ethereum (ETH), valued at around $20,000 at the time.

One NFT, Creature #9018, was acquired for 5 ETH, while the other, Creature #9299, cost 1.55 ETH. O'Neal later updated his X profile picture to Creature #9018, visibly signaling ownership and aligning with his wallet activity, which can be tracked on OpenSea under the pseudonym "manofdominance."

This move came just weeks after he told CNBC on Sep 10, 2021, that he hadn't invested in crypto due to its complexity, suggesting a distinction between buying crypto for NFT transactions and holding it as a long-term asset.

"I don't understand it, so I will probably stay away from it until I get a full understanding," O’Neal stated in a 2022 interview with the outlet.

However, O'Neal's promotional involvement in the crypto domain has ultimately overshadowed these personal transactions and led to legal complications.

In 2024, O'Neal settled a class-action lawsuit tied to his endorsement of Astrals NFTs and FTX, a collapsed crypto exchange, which ultimately led to investors losing a collective $11 million. The lawsuit targeted O'Neal and his promotional activities, accusing him of misleading investors by leveraging his fame to promote Astrals NFTs—10,000 Solana-based avatars—as unregistered securities, alongside his FTX commercials.

"I was just a paid spokesperson for a commercial," ONeal clarified in a 2022 CNBC interview, distancing himself from deeper involvement after FTX's demise.

The settlement, pending court approval as of March 5, 2025, will see a portion of the recovered funds distributed among investors who lost money due to their reliance on O'Neal's endorsements, highlighting the legal risks of his crypto affiliations.

O'Neal's NFT purchases stand in stark contrast to his stated caution towards cryptocurrency in previous interviews. Earlier in 2021, he expressed his skepticism, saying, "Every time somebody tells me one of those great stories, I like it. But from my experience, it is too good to be true." This statement, shared in an interview with Essence Magazine, highlighted his reluctance to embrace crypto broadly.

Later, in 2022, ONeal shifted his X handle to "Shaq.SOL," an adjustment that came after his promotional role for Solana, further indicating an interest in the crypto domain. However, no clear evidence links this change to additional purchases beyond his promotional activity.

Analysts suggest that O'Neal's Ethereum acquisition was driven by a specific purpose—to facilitate his NFT transactions—rather than a speculative bet, aligning with his self-described limited understanding of the market.