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NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal has agreed to pay $11 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over his promotion of the failed Astrals NFT project. A Florida federal judge approved the settlement on April 1, with the order becoming public just this week on April 8, according to court documents.

Basketball Icon Caught In Crypto Controversy

The lawsuit, first filed in May 2023, claimed O’Neal promoted the sale of unregistered securities through the Solana-based Astrals NFT collection. Investors who bought Astrals NFTs or the project’s GLXY tokens between May 2022 and January 15, 2024, will now be eligible for compensation from the settlement fund.

Judge Federico Moreno previously acknowledged that plaintiffs had made a plausible case that the former NBA star acted as a seller under securities law. The settlement comes after months of legal back-and-forth, with O’Neal reaching an agreement with plaintiffs last November.

The next shot – Shaquille O’Neal and #Astrals NFTs + $GLXY tokens.

Shaq actively promoted the tokens, calling himself “Astrals Chief Astronaut.” But after the FTX collapse in November 2022, the project’s reputation took a hit, and token sales slowed significantly.$GLXY is down… pic.twitter.com/quHziiGCdA

— 11th.com (@11thestate) March 28, 2025

Lawyers Take Home $2.9 Million Slice

The court approved $2.9 million in attorney fees and related costs as part of the settlement package. Judge Moreno ruled these fees were “fair and reasonable,” and noted that none of the plaintiffs objected to the amount lawyers would receive.

The lawyers were able to convince the court that investors lost their money because of O’Neal’s marketing campaigns for the project.

Court papers indicate that O’Neal urged potential investors to “hop on the wave before it’s too late,” something that came to haunt him in court.

Failed Project Promised Virtual Meetings With Shaq

Astrals were released in April 2022, providing 10,000 one-of-a-kind 3D avatars designed by artist Damien Guimoneau. The venture presented itself as a fully immersive metaverse experience through which users would be able to interact with other users as well as with O’Neal himself.

Despite the star power behind it, the collection has shown zero signs of activity over the past two years based on data from NFT marketplace OpenSea.

O’Neal reportedly continued to support the project publicly even after the major cryptocurrency exchange FTX collapsed in November 2022.

The court did throw O’Neal one small victory, dismissing claims that he was a “control person” within the project—a designation that would have suggested he held actual power over its operations rather than just serving as its famous face.

Shaquille O’Neal to Face Legal Action Over Astrals NFT Project and FTX Involvement
TLDR

Shaquille O’Neal faces a class action lawsuit over his involvement in the Astrals NFT project

The court dismissed allegations that O’Neal was a “control person” but found he could be cons… pic.twitter.com/tslw52EwOw

— 🛑 BREAKING NEWS 🛑📢🔔⚠💥❗💬 (@NotAnotherTip) August 19, 2024

NFT Market Continues Downward Spiral

The settlement comes as the broader NFT market struggles to regain its former glory. Total NFT sales volume stood at just $27 million for the week ending April 7, 2025, a dramatic drop from the $2 billion-plus weekly volumes recorded during the market’s peak in 2021.

This downward trend has been ongoing, with trading volumes falling by more than 60% in February alone. The drop continues a slide that began in early 2024, suggesting the once-hot digital collectibles market remains in a prolonged slump.

Featured image from Megan Briggs/Getty, chart from TradingView

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While Ethereum price charts appear gloomy at first glance, a pattern from 2020 is forming that can trigger fresh rallies for ETH. Crypto analyst Carl Moon says the difference between Ethereum’s price and its realized price is a setup for a parabolic rally in the future.

Ethereum Price To Recapture $2,000 Within Days

Crypto expert Carl Moon says that Ethereum’s poor run of form is reaching its end after prices mirrored a historical pattern. According to Moon’s post on X, the Ethereum price currently trades far below its realized price of $2,000.

Realized price, also known as true cost basis, is the average price of circulating assets at their last on-chain transaction.

Moon notes that this is the first time that the Ethereum price has fallen below its realized price in nearly five years. A previous occurrence in early 2020 saw the Ethereum price slump from $283 to almost $100, far below its realized price.

The crypto analyst highlights the impressive rally that followed the slump below the realized price back in 2020. At the time, the ETH price stage a short-term recovery to surge past the $283 mark before going on to cross the $4K mark.

“Ethereum is below the realized price of $2,000. This is a rare event,” said Moon. “The last time this happened was in March 2020, when ETH dropped from $283 to $109. Notice how quickly ETH recovered.”

As ETH grapples with $1,500, Moon says ETH’s price is far below its realized prize of $2,000, a clear signal of bottoming behavior.

Weakening Demand For ETH Despite Cyclical Pattern

Crypto analyst Vasu Crypto has taken swipes at Ethereum over its weakening demand in recent months. The analyst notes while the underlying technology is solid, low demand has negatively affected its price economy.

Per Vasu, new blockchains like Solana, Sui, and layer 2 protocols are aping into Ethereum’s market share. Their speed and lower transaction cost have cast doubt over Ethereum becoming deflationary again.

“The supply is increasing, but there’s no strong demand coming,” said Vasu.

World Liberty Financial is selling off its ETH holdings at a loss, signaling a loss of institutional appetite for the ETH. Standard Chartered lowered their prediction for Ethereum price to $4,000 from $10,000 after a shoddy performance in Q1.

Furthermore, even grimmer predictions continue to hover around the Ethereum price. Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff predicts that an ETH drop below $1,000 is in play given cyclical behaviour from 2022.

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Aliyu Pokima

Aliyu Pokima is a seasoned cryptocurrency and emerging technologies journalist with a knack for covering needle-moving stories in the space. Aliyu delivers breaking news stories, regulatory updates, and insightful analysis with depth and precision. When he’s not poring over charts or following leads, Aliyu enjoys playing the bass guitar, lifting weights and running marathons.

Disclaimer: The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.