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Floyd Mayweather left the ring with an impeccable and peerless fifty wins and no loss. But he makes it a point to win battles outside the ring too. In January, Mayweather, reality television celebrity Kim Kardashian and Boston Celtics’ Paul Pierce found themselves slapped with a case for distorting information they needed to share with cryptocurrency investors.

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In January this year, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California received a class action lawsuit, which by way of explanation, means a legal case filed by a group of people sharing a typical grievance.

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Read More: Floyd Mayweather Turns Down ‘Fake’ Fight With Boxing Legend

Cryptocurrency EthereumMax and its celebrity facilitators received square blame for overplaying token-price employing “false or deceptive assertions” on social media platforms.

Non mea culpa

Finally, after months, a federal judge pushed the case aside. While expressing genuine concern and understanding over the financial loss suffered by the plaintiff, Judge Michael Fitzgerald highlighted that it is reasonable for an investor to check thoroughly where his money might end up. He said, “But, while the law certainly places limits on those advertisers, it also expects investors to act reasonably before basing their bets on the zeitgeist of the moment.”

Further, ruling that in light of the “given the heightened pleading standards” for fraud claims across the U.S., the assertions of the grieving party lacked adequate support.

The news soon grabbed hold of social media platforms. Twitterati just exclaimed what they felt meant being powerful.

Cheeky responses from the fans were aplenty. Many consider the win an outcome of the power celebrities wield.

Sounds familiar to verdict?

It was not the first instance when both Mayweather and Kardashian got into trouble for promoting cryptocurrency schemes. 

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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused Mayweather of encouraging a controversial crowdfunding method in cryptocurrency. Namely, initial coin offering or initial currency offering. Mayweather settled the case with the SEC by paying almost $600,000. Albeit without admission or denial of the regulator’s charges.

Floyd Mayweather and Kim Kardashian promote a risky endeavour

The head of the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority expressed uncertainty about whether EthereumMax could be termed a fraud. He highlighted Kim Kardashian’s commercial for the cryptocurrency on Instagram. He shared that “social media influencers are often paid by scammers to assist them pump and dump new currencies on the strength of sheer speculation.”

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In 2021, Kardashian put a message on her Instagram handle, “Are you guys into crypto??? This is not financial advice but sharing what my friends told me about the Ethereum Max token.” The “#ad” at the end of her post indicated a sponsorship. However, it did not reveal the $250,000 she received from EthereumMax.

Likewise, Mayweather reportedly pushed for EMAX in June 2021 at a boxing match and a big bitcoin conference.

It should be worth noting that by January, the value of the cryptocurrency went down by 97%.

Watch Out for More: The Money Lifestyle

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Written by

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Jaideep R Unnithan

3,673 Articles

Jaideep R. Unnithan is a Senior Boxing Writer at EssentiallySports and one of the division’s most trusted voices. Since joining in October 2022, he has brought a deep love for the sport into every story, whether reporting on live bouts with the ES LiveEvent Desk or unpacking the legacy of fighters from different eras as part of the features desk. Trained under EssentiallySports’ prestigious Journalistic Excellence Program, which is a specialized training initiative designed to refine top writers' skills through mentorship and advanced sports journalism techniques, Jaideep’s writing reflects a quiet authority shaped by two years of covering boxing’s flashpoints and fault lines. He is drawn to the warrior code of legends like Alexis Argüello and Marvin Hagler, while also staying attuned to the promise of rising stars like Jesse 'Bam' Rodriguez, David Benavidez, and Dmitry Bivol. Jaideep has a special fascination with Naoya Inoue’s old-school grit. Beyond writing, he reads widely, a habit that sharpens his storytelling, whether he’s tracing the rhythm of a classic fight or preparing his next ringside dispatch. Before joining EssentiallySports, Jaideep worked as a client manager and team manager in corporate roles, bringing strong organizational and communication skills to his journalistic career. He has also completed notable certifications, including a Non-Fiction Book Writing Workshop.

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Ajinkya Aswale

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