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Former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal has agreed to an $11 million settlement over claims involving his promotion of Astrals NFTs. The settlement, reached after a year of legal disputes, coincides with a resurgence in global NFT sales volumes, highlighting the market’s continued recovery.
Shaquille O’Neal Faces Legal Challenges Over Astrals NFTs
For Astrals' non-fungible token (NFT) holders, former NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal has agreed to a class action settlement fund. While waiting for court clearance, the NBA legend also settled claims in another FTX litigation.
During an NBA game at Miami's Kaseya Center (previously the FTX Arena) on May 23, O'Neal received the Astral NFT lawsuit. He was involved in a class action lawsuit because he promoted the Astrals NFT project.
A federal court judge in Miami acknowledged the plaintiffs' valid allegations that the ex-NBA player was the NFTs' supplier on August 16.
O’Neal’s $11 Million Settlement Brings Case Closure
O'Neal agreed to promote Astrals NFTs for $11 million after a year of legal wrangling, and the class-action lawsuit was dismissed as a result.
One thousand and fifty digital artifacts designed by Damien Guimoneau made up the Astrals NFT collection. Among the many people who the NFTs encouraged to join a virtual world were the NBA star and other users.
Many investors fell for the NFTs because of O'Neal's promotion of them, according to the plaintiffs, who alleged that Astral assets were associated with his celebrity position.
Investors Blame Losses on Declining NFT Value
Per Cointelegraph, O'Neal denied the plaintiffs' claims that he attempted to withdraw from the deal. Investors lost money because the value of the NFTs fell. In September 2023, they took legal action by suing O'Neal.
NFTs are seeing a rebound in sales quantities, coinciding with O'Neal's settlement. Monthly sales volumes of NFTs ended a seven-month decline in October. Compared to September, the lowest month in 2024, monthly sales volumes of NFT reached $356 million, an increase of 18%. There was a 42% month-on-month rise in transactions, hitting 7.2 million.
Crypto Market Fuels Renewed NFT Interest
On the week of November 17th, sales of NFTs increased by a whopping 94%. Gains in Bitcoin and the wider crypto market drove sales in the digital collectibles sector to $181 million. Increased trading on prominent NFT blockchains such as Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Solana caused the volume to soar.
