Football Legend Ronaldinho Backs Crypto, But Expert Warns Of Red Flags

Brazilian football icon Ronaldinho Gaúcho has made headlines by actively promoting the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency, sparking widespread discussion and excitement among his vast global following. Utilizing his influential status, Ronaldinho posed a compelling question on social media, “Time for crypto to go mainstream, who’s with me?” This direct appeal led to his message being viewed over 2.2 million times and retweeted thousands of times, indicating significant interest in his endorsement.

Crypto Expert Issues Warning On Ronaldinho’s Endorsements

A few days earlier, Ronaldinho announced a strategic partnership with Lingo, a platform that aims to merge the utility of reward tokens with real-world assets through blockchain technology. The collaboration, revealed via X (formerly Twitter), positions Ronaldinho as a pivotal ambassador for Lingo, aiming to leverage his celebrity status to introduce a broader demographic to the nuances of digital assets.

This partnership is one of many examples where celebrities have used their platform to promote financial technologies, potentially attracting new users unfamiliar with the crypto ecosystem. Ronaldinho’s influence is particularly potent, given his international fame and large social media following which includes millions of fans across multiple platforms.

However, the announcement was met with skepticism from some quarters of the crypto community. Notably, ZachXBT, an on-chain analyst known for investigating fraud, responded critically. He highlighted Ronaldinho’s history with cryptocurrency endorsements, which he claimed predominantly involved “pump and dump” schemes.

ZachXBT stated, “Is this a translation for you are bankrupt again? In case you forgot, here are all of the crypto projects you pump and dumped over the years,” and cited several projects Ronaldinho previously promoted, including World Cup Inu, Kisht Inu, MiniFootball Club, Atari Chain, Lord Society NFTs, BabyDoge, and Metaverk (MEVR). He questioned the sustainability and integrity of these initiatives, sharing evidence of Ronaldinho’s past financial troubles to suggest a potential motive behind these promotions.

Is this a translation for you are bankrupt again?

In case you forgot here are all of the crypto projects you pump and dumped over the years. pic.twitter.com/VvVRQR6tKt

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) June 24, 2024

This criticism underscores a broader issue within the cryptocurrency landscape—celebrity endorsements can significantly sway market prices and investor sentiment, often without a clear assessment of the underlying value or potential of the project being promoted.

Ronaldinho is not alone in his foray into cryptocurrency endorsements. Other celebrities, including Australian rapper Iggy Azalea and sports figures like Lionel Messi, Tom Brady, and Naomi Osaka, have also engaged with various crypto projects, often resulting in short-term market excitement.

For example, the launch of the MOTHER token by Iggy Azalea on the Solana blockchain quickly reached a market cap of $200 million due to a 90% price surge within just 24 hours. These instances serve as a reminder of the potent mix of celebrity influence and the speculative nature of the crypto markets. They also highlight the importance of investor caution.

The involvement of celebrities can lead to increased exposure and potentially accelerate adoption, but it also introduces risks, as seen in the legal challenges faced by figures like Floyd Mayweather Jr., who was implicated in promoting fraudulent initial coin offerings (ICOs).

At press time, MOTHER traded at $0.0614, still down -78% from its all-time high.