Ronaldinho supports cryptocurrencies, but experts warn of warning signs

Brazilian football icon Ronaldinho Gaúcho has made headlines by actively promoting the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency, sparking widespread discussion and enthusiasm among his large global following. Capitalizing on his influential status, Ronaldinho asked an interesting question on social media: “It’s time for cryptocurrencies to become 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 endorsing him.

Cryptography experts issue warnings about Ronaldinho’s support

A few days earlier, Ronaldinho announced a strategic partnership with Lingo, a platform that aims to unite the utility of reward tokens with real-world assets through blockchain technology. The collaboration, revealed via X (formerly Twitter), positions Ronaldinho as a key 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 who are unfamiliar with the crypto ecosystem. Ronaldinho’s influence is particularly powerful, given his international fame and large social media following that 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 supporting cryptocurrencies, which he said were mostly about “pump and dump” schemes.

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

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This criticism highlights a larger problem in the cryptocurrency landscape: celebrity endorsements can significantly influence market prices and investor sentiment, often without a clear assessment of the underlying value or potential of the promoted project.

Ronaldinho is not alone in his foray into the world of cryptocurrencies. Other celebrities, including Australian rapper Iggy Azalea and sports figures such as Lionel Messi, Tom Bradyand Naomi Osaka, have also engaged in various crypto projects, often causing excitement in the market in the short term.

For example, Iggy Azalea’s launch of the MOTHER token on the Solana blockchain quickly reached a market capitalization of $200 million due to a 90% price increase in just 24 hours. These cases serve as a reminder of the potent mix between celebrity influence and the speculative nature of cryptocurrency markets. They also highlight the importance of investor caution.

Celebrity involvement can lead to greater visibility and potentially accelerate adoption, but it also introduces risks, as seen in the legal challenges faced by figures such as Floyd Mayweather Jr., which has been implicated in promoting fraudulent initial coin offerings (ICOs).

At the time of writing, MOTHER was trading at $0.0614, still down -78% from its all-time high.

MOTHER Price, 4-hour chart | Source: MOTHERUSDT on TradingView.com

Featured image by Sky Sports, chart by TradingView.com

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