“Kind of mirrors the inequality”: How Naomi Osaka’s $32 billion crypto deal turned into an $11 billion in

Naomi Osaka joined a major cryptocurrency company as a global ambassador in March 2022. The deal gave the tennis star an equity stake in a company valued at about $32 billion. Eight months later, the company filed for bankruptcy, and Osaka was named in an $11 billion investor lawsuit.

The lawsuit also named major sports and entertainment figures, including Tom Brady, Stephen Curry and Gisele Bündchen. Investors accused the celebrity promoters of helping bring customers to the platform. The case later changed as the court dismissed most of the claims against the celebrity defendants.

Naomi Osaka took an equity stake and wanted more women in crypto

On March 21, 2022, the cryptocurrency exchange announced Osaka as a global ambassador through a long-term partnership. She received an equity stake in the company and compensation in cryptocurrency. She also agreed to help create content and promote the platform to a global audience.

The partnership had a specific goal. Osaka wanted to help bring more women into crypto, an industry that had a much smaller female presence at the time.

“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 said in the March 21, 2022 partnership announcement.