加密货币崩盘：体育偶像遭受漫长的法律斗争

关于 FTX 创始人刑事判决的多起民事诉讼正在进行中，近十几名运动员和其他体育人物因支持 FTX、Voyager Digital 和币安而被列入集体诉讼。诉讼指控这些人推销未注册的证券，并且未能披露报酬。如果原告获胜，被告可能需要承担数百万或数十亿美元的损失。法律策略取决于确定加密货币是否为证券，这在法律上仍然是一个悬而未决的问题。

Cryptocurrency Collapse Ensnares Sports Figures in Lengthy Legal Battles

加密货币崩溃让体育界人物陷入漫长的法律斗争

The criminal proceedings against Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, may have concluded with his recent 25-year prison sentence, but the fallout from the crypto market implosion lingers in the form of ongoing civil lawsuits involving prominent sports figures.

针对倒闭的加密货币交易所 FTX 创始人 Sam Bankman-Fried 的刑事诉讼可能已经结束，他最近被判处 25 年监禁，但加密货币市场崩溃的影响却以涉及知名体育明星的民事诉讼的形式持续存在。

Nearly a dozen athletes, teams, and leagues are entangled in class-action lawsuits tied to their endorsements of FTX, Voyager Digital, and Binance, companies that crumbled amidst the 2022 crypto market crash. The lawsuits, which have been making their way through the courts for over a year, allege that the defendants are liable for investor losses due to promoting unregistered securities. Additionally, plaintiffs claim that the defendants failed to adequately disclose the compensation they received for their endorsements.

近十几名运动员、团队和联盟因支持 FTX、Voyager Digital 和币安而卷入集体诉讼，这些公司在 2022 年加密货币市场崩盘中崩溃了。这些诉讼已经在法院审理了一年多，指控被告应对因推销未注册证券而造成的投资者损失承担责任。此外，原告声称被告未能充分披露他们因代言而获得的报酬。

A handful of athletes and celebrities have already settled with plaintiffs, including Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and former NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski. However, high-profile defendants such as retired quarterback Tom Brady, former Dallas Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban, and soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo remain in the legal crosshairs. If the plaintiffs prevail, the defendants could face billions of dollars in damages.

一些运动员和名人已经与原告达成和解，其中包括杰克逊维尔美洲虎队四分卫特雷弗·劳伦斯和前 NFL 近端锋罗布·格隆考斯基。然而，退役四分卫汤姆·布雷迪、前达拉斯小牛队大股东马克·库班和足球明星克里斯蒂亚诺·罗纳尔多等备受瞩目的被告仍然成为法律的焦点。如果原告胜诉，被告可能面临数十亿美元的损失。

Brady, who appeared in TV ads with his then-wife Gisele Bundchen, has maintained that his promotional efforts for FTX did not involve the sale or solicitation of securities and that he was unaware of FTX's fraudulent activities. His lawyers contend that "no reasonable consumer would confuse these promotions for anything other than paid endorsements."

与当时的妻子吉赛尔·邦辰 (Gisele Bundchen) 一起出现在电视广告中的布雷迪坚称，他对 FTX 的促销活动不涉及证券销售或招揽，并且他不知道 FTX 的欺诈活动。他的律师辩称，“任何理性的消费者都不会将这些促销活动与付费代言以外的任何东西混为一谈。”

Cuban has argued that the assets he promoted for the now-bankrupt Voyager Digital were not securities and therefore not subject to regulations related to promotional activity. He has also questioned the jurisdiction of the court handling his case.

库班辩称，他为现已破产的 Voyager Digital 推销的资产不是证券，因此不受与促销活动相关的法规的约束。他还质疑处理其案件的法院的管辖权。

Ronaldo, who is named in a complaint seeking "a sum exceeding" $1 billion in damages related to his promotion of the Binance platform, has yet to respond to allegations that he "lent his celebrity and credibility" without disclosing compensation. Legal experts close to the situation reported that Cuban declined to comment, while none of the other defendants responded to requests for comment.

C 罗在一份投诉中被点名，要求就其推广币安平台获得“超过 10 亿美元的赔偿”，但他尚未回应有关他“借用自己的名气和信誉”的指控，但未透露赔偿金额。熟悉情况的法律专家称，库班拒绝发表评论，而其他被告均未回应评论请求。

The legal strategy employed in these cases hinges on the crucial question of whether cryptocurrencies qualify as securities. If so, their promotion and sale would fall under a comprehensive set of regulations designed to protect the public.

这些案件中采用的法律策略取决于加密货币是否符合证券资格的关键问题。如果是这样，它们的促销和销售将受到一套旨在保护公众的综合法规的约束。

"You're now selling a financial instrument," explained Charles Whitehead, a securities regulation expert and professor of business law at Cornell Law School. "And there are rules. This is a heavily regulated industry. There are rules that regulate people, spokespeople, who, for compensation, are running around and touting a security."

“你现在正在出售一种金融工具，”康奈尔法学院证券监管专家兼商法教授查尔斯·怀特海德解释道。 “而且是有规则的。这是一个受到严格监管的行业。有一些规则来监管人们、发言人，他们为了补偿而四处奔波并兜售安全。”

Courts determine whether an asset qualifies as an "investment contract" and therefore governed by U.S. securities law through the Howey Test, established by the Supreme Court in 1946. If an investment of money in a common enterprise, with an expectation of profits based on the efforts of others, is present, the asset is considered a security.

法院通过最高法院于 1946 年制定的豪伊测试来确定某项资产是否符合“投资合同”的条件并因此受美国证券法管辖。他人的努力，是存在的，该资产被认为是一种担保。

Federal securities law mandates that those promoting a security must fully disclose the nature, scope, and amount of compensation received for advertising, or risk violating anti-touting regulations.

联邦证券法规定，证券推广者必须充分披露广告报酬的性质、范围和金额，否则有违反反兜售法规的风险。

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the primary enforcer of securities law, has asserted that most cryptocurrencies and other digital assets fall under the definition of securities. However, the issue remains unsettled in law.

证券法的主要执行者美国证券交易委员会（SEC）声称，大多数加密货币和其他数字资产都属于证券的定义。然而，这个问题在法律上仍然悬而未决。

During the crypto boom that began in late 2020, athletes became prominent ambassadors for cryptocurrencies and their exchange platforms. Brady, NBA star Steph Curry, and entertainment personalities like Larry David were among those endorsing crypto products through advertisements and social media posts.

在 2020 年底开始的加密货币热潮中，运动员成为加密货币及其交易平台的杰出大使。布雷迪、NBA 球星斯蒂芬·库里和拉里·大卫等娱乐名人都通过广告和社交媒体帖子支持加密产品。

However, the 2022 crypto market crash triggered a run on crypto exchanges, exposing the vulnerability of these platforms. Voyager filed for bankruptcy in July 2022, followed by FTX in November of the same year. The collapse of FTX, once valued at $32 billion, sent shockwaves through the financial world and prompted scrutiny from regulators and law enforcement.

然而，2022 年的加密货币市场崩盘引发了加密货币交易所的挤兑，暴露了这些平台的脆弱性。 Voyager 于 2022 年 7 月申请破产，FTX 也于同年 11 月申请破产。一度估值 320 亿美元的 FTX 崩溃给金融界带来了冲击，并引发了监管机构和执法部门的审查。

In 2023, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, alleging that the company operated an illegal trading platform and mishandled customer funds. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao ultimately pleaded guilty to "failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program," and the company was ordered to pay $4.3 billion in criminal penalties.

2023年，SEC对全球最大的加密货币交易所币安提起诉讼，指控该公司运营非法交易平台并不当处理客户资金。币安创始人赵长鹏最终承认“未能维持有效的反洗钱计划”，该公司被责令支付 43 亿美元的刑事处罚。

Sam Bankman-Fried's guilty plea to seven counts of fraud and conspiracy tied to the collapse of FTX resulted in a 25-year prison sentence. The fallout has also led to several class-action lawsuits against athletes and celebrities who had promoted Voyager, FTX, and Binance.

Sam Bankman-Fried 对与 FTX 崩溃相关的七项欺诈和共谋罪名认罪，最终被判处 25 年监禁。这一事件还引发了多起针对推广 Voyager、FTX 和币安的运动员和名人的集体诉讼。

All of the ongoing cases have been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The plaintiffs, represented by attorneys Adam Moskowitz and David Boies, allege billions of dollars in damages stemming from the companies' collapses. Moskowitz has stated that, based on bankruptcy court calculations, total investor losses amount to approximately $3 billion in Voyager Digital and $10 billion in FTX.

所有正在进行的案件均已提交给美国佛罗里达州南区地方法院。由律师亚当·莫斯科维茨（Adam Moskowitz）和大卫·博伊斯（David Boies）代表的原告声称，公司倒闭造成了数十亿美元的损失。 Moskowitz 表示，根据破产法庭的计算，Voyager Digital 的投资者损失总额约为 30 亿美元，FTX 的投资者损失总额约为 100 亿美元。

The outcome of these lawsuits remains uncertain, with the potential for jury trials or out-of-court settlements. The amount of liability that each defendant could face is unclear.

这些诉讼的结果仍不确定，有可能进行陪审团审判或庭外和解。每个被告可能面临的责任数额尚不清楚。

The Voyager Case

航海者号案件

The Voyager Digital lawsuit names Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks as defendants. Gronkowski, former NBA player Victor Oladipo, and NASCAR driver Landon Cassill were initially named as defendants but have since settled.

Voyager Digital 诉讼将马克·库班和达拉斯小牛队列为被告。格隆考斯基、前 NBA 球员维克托·奥拉迪波和 NASCAR 车手兰登·卡西尔最初被列为被告，但后来达成和解。

Cuban is accused of inducing plaintiffs to open interest-bearing accounts with Voyager Digital by falsely claiming to have personally invested in the company during a Mavericks news conference in October 2021. The Mavericks later tweeted that customers who downloaded the app, created an account, deposited $100, and made one trade would receive $100 in free bitcoin.

库班被指控在 2021 年 10 月小牛队新闻发布会上谎称自己个人投资了 Voyager Digital，诱导原告在 Voyager Digital 开立计息账户。小牛队后来在推特上表示，下载该应用程序、创建账户、存入资金的客户100 美元，完成一笔交易将获得 100 美元的免费比特币。

In response, Cuban's attorneys have argued that he advised individuals to "always be careful" with their money and to avoid "rush[ing] into" substantial deposits with Voyager. Cuban also maintains that the Voyager assets in question are not securities.

作为回应，库班的律师辩称，他建议个人“始终小心”使用自己的资金，并避免“急于”向 Voyager 存入大量存款。库班还坚称，涉案航行者号资产不是证券。

Moskowitz has asserted that Cuban faces "much more liability" than other celebrities involved in the class actions due to his "level of involvement."

莫斯科维茨声称，由于库班的“参与程度”，他比其他参与集体诉讼的名人面临“更多的责任”。

"He's not just doing an advertisement," Moskowitz said. "I mean, he's the global partner of [Voyager Digital]."

“他不仅仅是在做广告，”莫斯科维茨说。 “我的意思是，他是 [Voyager Digital] 的全球合作伙伴。”

Cuban has claimed that he had no agreement with Voyager and acted solely in his capacity as governor of the Mavericks. The NBA has also been named as a defendant in a separate case involving Voyager, with the lawsuit alleging that the league's "widespread promotion of Voyager's unregistered securities" makes it liable for damages. The NBA has not filed a response in court, and the case has been stayed pending a decision on the motion to dismiss the case against Cuban. Both cases are overseen by the same judge.

库班声称他与航行者号没有达成协议，并且仅以小牛队州长的身份行事。 NBA 还被列为涉及 Voyager 的另一起案件的被告，该诉讼指控联盟“广泛宣传 Voyager 的未注册证券”，使其承担损害赔偿责任。 NBA尚未向法庭做出回应，该案已被搁置，等待驳回针对库班案的动议的决定。这两起案件均由同一名法官审理。

Lawyers for Cuban, the Mavericks, and the NBA have not responded to requests for comment.

库班、小牛队和 NBA 的律师尚未回应置评请求。

The FTX Case

FTX 案例

The FTX class-action lawsuit names defendants including Brady, Curry, Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani, basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal, and Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka. The celebrity athletes and teams have been accused of "contributing both to the perpetration of the fraud [by FTX], and to the sale of unregistered securities, in a vital way" without disclosing the amount and form of payment received.

FTX 集体诉讼指定的被告包括布雷迪、库里、洛杉矶道奇队重拳手大谷翔平、篮球名人堂成员沙奎尔·奥尼尔和日本网球明星大阪直美。这些名人运动员和团队被指控“以至关重要的方式参与了[FTX]的欺诈行为，并出售了未注册的证券”，但没有透露收到的付款金额和方式。

A judge is currently considering preliminary objections from the defendants on jurisdictional issues and other basic motions. Brady, in his individual motion to dismiss the case, argues that his general promotion of FTX did not mention the "allegedly unregistered securities" and that the company's collapse "harmed" him as well. He also maintains that "no reasonable consumer would confuse these promotions for anything other than paid endorsements."

法官目前正在考虑被告关于管辖权问题和其他基本动议的初步反对意见。 Brady 在其驳回此案的个人动议中辩称，他对 FTX 的总体宣传并未提及“据称未注册的证券”，而且该公司的倒闭也“伤害”了他。他还坚称，“任何理性的消费者都不会将这些促销活动与付费代言以外的任何东西混为一谈。”

The defendants have argued in court filings that the lawsuits do not allege that the plaintiffs made purchases "as a result of viewing an advertisement involving" the athletes. Osaka and Curry have argued that they are not subject to the court's jurisdiction, while O'Neal has stated that he never mentioned the alleged securities in any of his promotions.

被告在法庭文件中辩称，诉讼并未指控原告“因观看涉及运动员的广告而进行购买”。大阪和库里辩称，他们不受法院管辖，而奥尼尔则表示，他从未在任何促销活动中提及所指控的证券。

Attorneys for Ohtani have also argued that he is not within the court's jurisdiction and that his agreement with FTX was to promote the company in the Japanese market. They contend that Ohtani did not utter a single word in two internet ads for FTX and therefore could not have misled the plaintiffs.

Ohtani 的律师还辩称，他不属于法院的管辖范围，他与 FTX 的协议是为了在日本市场推广该公司。他们认为，Ohtani 在 FTX 的两则互联网广告中没有说任何一句话，因此不可能误导原告。

The parties are awaiting a ruling from the judge on the jurisdictional questions and the defendants' motion to dismiss.

双方正在等待法官对​​管辖权问题和被告驳回动议的裁决。

The Binance Case

币安案例

The complaint against Cristiano Ronaldo involving Binance, filed late last year, alleges that the Portuguese soccer star repeatedly "lent his celebrity and credibility" to the crypto platform through promotions and NFT collections on a site that required customers to sign up and deposit funds. The lawsuit also alleges that he failed to disclose compensation for his promotion of Binance "securities."

去年年底，涉及币安的针对克里斯蒂亚诺·罗纳尔多 (Cristiano Ronaldo) 的投诉称，这位葡萄牙足球明星通过在一个要求客户注册并存入资金的网站上进行促销和 NFT 收藏，多次向该加密货币平台“借出自己的名气和信誉”。该诉讼还指控他未能披露其推广币安“证券”的报酬。

Another Binance lawsuit filed last year named NBA player Jimmy Butler as a defendant. Butler has filed a motion to compel arbitration or dismiss the case, with his lawyers arguing that Butler "could not have caused any alleged injury because the statements attributed to him are neither untrue nor misleading, bespeak caution, constitute immaterial puffery, do not promote or even mention any alleged security identified in the Amended Complaint and certainly do not encourage investment in them."

去年币安提起的另一起诉讼将 NBA 球员吉米·巴特勒列为被告。巴特勒已提出强制仲裁或驳回案件的动议，他的律师辩称巴特勒“不可能造成任何所谓的伤害，因为他的陈述既不真实也不具有误导性，请谨慎行事，构成无关紧要的虚张声势，不宣扬或甚至提及修订后的投诉中指出的任何所谓的安全，当然不鼓励对其进行投资。”

Ronaldo has not responded to the claims in court filings, and spokespeople for Butler and Ronaldo have not returned requests for comment. The cases are currently awaiting a decision by a judge on whether an "arbitration agreement" in the Binance terms of use is binding. The clause generally stipulates that parties must bring claims before an arbitrator rather than a judge or jury.

罗纳尔多尚未对法庭文件中的指控做出回应，巴特勒和罗纳尔多的发言人也没有回复置评请求。这些案件目前正在等待法官就币安使用条款中的“仲裁协议”是否具有约束力做出裁决。该条款一般规定当事人必须向仲裁员而不是法官或陪审团提出索赔。

The Precedents

先例

Courts in different federal court circuits have issued conflicting rulings on whether cryptocurrencies are securities. Experts in the industry are unsure whether the legal argument proposed by Moskowitz and Boies will succeed due to the unique nature of each case.

不同联邦巡回法院的法院就加密货币是否属于证券发布了相互矛盾的裁决。由于每个案件的独特性，业内专家不确定莫斯科维茨和博伊斯提出的法律论点是否会成功。