The Golden State Warriors (GSW) may have won their latest game against the Houston Rockets, but it appears that their glory will be short-lived.
The basketball team is facing a class action lawsuit for its partnership with the collapsed firm FTX. The suit states that the team made the crypto firm appear safe and reliable, according to Gizmodo.
Customers Cry Foul
A Canadian citizen who resides in Hongkong, Elliot Lam, claims that the lawsuit is also for the countless FTX traders, who were encouraged by the Golden State Warriors' association with FTX. Lam, the defendant, expressed that he lost $750,000, because of the FTX bankruptcy debacle. He aims to resolve the damages for other users outside the US as well.
The GSW made a cryptocurrency partnership with the fallen crypto firm, and planned to release its own NFTs through the FTX website. Although the GSW spokesperson stated that they will stop promotional assets related to FTX in the meantime, this did not deter Lam from filing a lawsuit, for damage that has already been done.
This is not the first time that FTX was involved with a basketball team, Previously, the once-crypto giant also got the naming rights for the Miami Heat's basketball arena. This cost the firm an astounding $135 million, which now seems bigger since the company has lost almost everything.
The Defendant is Not Alone
He is not alone in the sense that he wasn't the only one who felt cheated. It's not just people with money to burn who lost out, but people who invested a chunk of their savings in FTX. A lot of average Joes have lost money to the crypto crash, and it's money that they won't recover for years. Several cases were mentioned in The Guardian.
A data analyst from the UK going by the name Laura, tried to withdraw $2,300 dollars from FTX but was unable to. She did so after news of the firm being in trouble broke out. She stated she didn't have that kind of money to lose, and that the incident should be treated as fraud. She initially invested in the firm to be able to pay for a house deposit.
A tech worker based in Germany named Jamie, said that the amount he lost was worth two decades of savings. He attempted to transfer his funds off of FTX, but he failed to do so. Regardless, the tech worker said he would still invest in crypto, as it provides opportunities for someone his age with decreasing living standards.
A case where an investor lost a significant amount of money was with a construction site manager, named William. He had about $85,000 worth of fiat currencies on FTX. When he got word about FTX losing its grip, he tried to withdraw as much as he can, which was limited to $25,000. Long story short, he lost $60,000 to FTX, and his three Bitcoins are worth less than what they previously did.
