Osaka's Crypto Deal Goes Sour as FTX Files Bankruptcy
Tennis star Naomi Osaka partnered with FTX, a major cryptocurrency company, in March 2022 as their global ambassador. She received an equity stake in the company valued at $32 billion and compensation in cryptocurrency.
The partnership aimed to bring more women into crypto, which had a small female presence at the time. Osaka said, 'We have seen the statistics about how few women are part of crypto by comparison, which kind of mirrors the inequality we see in other financial markets.'
Osaka's role went beyond just being an ambassador; she helped direct and produce promotional content and wore the company's logo during competitions. However, her partnership with FTX turned sour when the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on November 11, 2022.
A class-action lawsuit was filed in Florida seeking $11 billion in damages, naming Osaka along with other celebrity promoters, including Tom Brady and Stephen Curry. The investors argued that the celebrity promotions helped bring customers to the platform, but the court later dismissed most of the claims against the celebrity defendants.