Steve Aoki sued over influencing purchases of “worthless” NFTs

Steve Aoki is at the centre of a class action lawsuit after being accused of influencing purchases of “worthless” NFTs, and was allegedly paid for doing so.

Aoki is being sued along with Matthew Kalish, the co-founder of sports betting company DraftKings (per Law.com), and faced a federal court in Miami on Tuesday, January 6.

The suit alleges that both Aoki and Kalish influenced their social media followers to purchase NFTs (non-fungible tokens) from Metazoo, a now-shuttered NFT trading company.

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It also accuses both men of being paid an undisclosed sum to promote Metazoo, which Aoki became a part-owner of in 2021, and left those who invested with losses since it became defunct.

Attorney Evan Berger reportedly filed the class action lawsuit, arguing that some NFTs promoted were priced as high as US$150,000, which are now "worthless", according to the suit.

“There are a number of class actions now against viable companies where the same thing has happened,” Berger said (via Law.com).

“There is a specific set of rules that are in place to protect consumers, and it's of great importance that influencers know and understand those rules, because they are requirements and not suggestions.”

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In 2022, Steve Aoki stopped his show mid-performance and pulled up a picture of the US$859,000 NFT he’d recently purchased to show his crowds.

Aoki paused the music, turned his phone around, and said: “Check this little gorgeous alien out. Look at him! I had to stop the music because I’m so fucking excited. This is the Steve Aoki doodle, take a good look guys!”

[Via: Law.com]

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Associate Digital Editor, follow her on X