Global ticketing giant Ticketmaster has acquired blockchain-focused live events firm Upgraded, according to an Oct. 18 press release. Ticketmaster, a division of the world’s largest live-entertainment business Live Nation, plans to use blockchain technology through the partnership as a way to provide more transparency and better control ticket distribution. Additionally, the company hopes it will protect clients from fraud associated with the existing ticketing system, which works in the form of printed or PDF-based tickets. The blockchain live events company Upgraded will enable Ticketmaster to digitize traditional tickets into interactive units protected by blockchain technology via encrypted barcodes. The press …

Japanese car manufacturer Toyota has partnered with blockchain advertising analytics firm Lucidity to cut down on fraud when buying digital ads, according to a press release published Oct. 16. Formerly known as KR8OS, Lucidity was founded in 2017 in Los Angeles and offers an Ethereum blockchain solution to track supply chain payments, so advertisers can monitor how their funds are allocated. Through the new partnership with Lucidity, Toyota and global ads agency Saatchi & Saatchi are reportedly looking to attain transparency in Toyota’s digital ad campaign buys and eliminate wasted spending. The size of the automotive digital advertising market was …

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has halted a planned Initial Coin Offering (ICO) that falsely claimed have SEC approval, the agency reported in an official press release Thursday, Oct. 11. The SEC suspended the ICO project with an emergency court order, and also halted pre-ICO sales by the company Blockvest LLC, and its founder Reginald Buddy Ringgold III. The complaint by the SEC alleges that Blockvest falsely claimed that their ICO and affiliates had acquired approval from major financial regulators, including the SEC itself. Blockvest and Ringgold — who also goes by the name Rasool Abdul Rahim El …

Cryptocurrency exchange YoBit is going to perform a pump scheme on random coins, according to an Oct. 10 tweet. A pump and dump scheme is a form of fraud that attempts to artificially boost the price of an asset through misleading or false recommendations. YoBit Pump in 22 hrs: https://t.co/RIbW7OhKzM We will buy one random coin for 1 btc every 1-2 mins 10 times (total buy amount - 10 btc). — Yobit.Net (@YobitExchange) October 10, 2018 In addition to announcing the pump scheme in a tweet, the exchange posted a countdown clock for a ‘YoBit pump’ on its website. YoBit …

The Foreign Ministry of Thailand has revoked the passport of an alleged crypto scammer, which has reportedly rendered him unable to return to his home country for prosecution, the Bangkok Post reports Wednesday, Oct. 10. According to the report, Prinya Jaravijit was in the U.S. after a cryptocurrency investment scheme surfaced in which he and several accomplices allegedly defrauded a Finnish investor of $24 million. The Crime Suppression Division’s (CSD) deputy commander Pol Col Chakrit Sawasdee claimed on Wednesday that the Foreign Ministry invalidated the passport of the prime suspect Jaravijit. Sawasdee reportedly ordered the suspect to turn himself in …

A member of South Korea’s National Assembly has called on the state to “open up the road” to Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) by easing regulations, South Korean financial outlet Economy reports October 2. According to the article, Min Byung-doo, a Democratic Party lawmaker, will introduce a project of for ICO legislation at the next round of the National Assembly. He claimed that the purpose of the new legislation is to allow ICOs while enforcing strict regulation for the negative parts of the industry, noting: "We are looking at ways to open up the road to ICO[s] while strictly prohibiting negative …

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed a suit against two defendants for the allegedly fraudulent solicitation of Bitcoin (BTC), according to an official press release published on Friday, September 28. The CFTC’s complaint — filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas — charges the two defendants with running two fraudulent businesses and misleading the public to invest in leveraged or margined foreign currency contracts, such as forex, binary options, and diamonds. The first defendant, who goes by the name Morgan Hunt, is reportedly from Arlington, Texas, and owns the company Diamonds Trading …

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed charges against international securities dealer 1pool Ltd., which was offering Bitcoin-funded security-based swaps, according to an SEC announcement published September 27. Per the SEC, the case involves the Marshall Islands-based corporation 1pool Ltd., which provides cryptocurrency-related services and stands behind 1broker.com, and its Austria-based CEO Patrick Brunner. The complaint alleges that the parties violated federal securities laws in connection with security-based swaps funded with Bitcoin (BTC). The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement plus interest, and penalties. The SEC …

Hydrogen, a NYC-based business that was recently named KPMG’s fintech startup of the year has signed a public blockchain licensing deal with TD Bank – the world’s 12th-biggest bank in terms of market capitalization. Hydrogen is a decentralized ecosystem for financial services that combines artificial intelligence, record keeping, authentication, payments and identity services. The initial phase of the collaboration will integrate Hydrogen’s APIs into TD’s WebBroker program, which will allow all TD clients to design their own financial plans and implement custom investment portfolios. Future developments will include several new capabilities for TD retail banking customers as planned integration of …

A U.S. federal district judge has ruled that an allegedly fraudulent crypto token meets the definition of a commodity, bringing the case under regulators’ purview, Finance Feeds reports September 27. Judge Rya W. Zobel of the Massachusetts District Court ruled Sept. 25 against a motion to dismiss a case that had been launched by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) against an allegedly fraudulent crypto scheme known as “My Big Coin Pay Inc.,” reported to have been based in the state of Nevada. The CFTC had sued tech entrepreneur Randall Crater, and other relief defendants tied to his firm, for …

This week, on the same day, two United States regulating bodies — the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and its ruling organization the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) — reported filing objections against non-compliant crypto players who made some false statements regarding their businesses. While the SEC barely needs any introduction for those who follow the crypto industry, FINRA might seem unfamiliar. FINRA is a private, non-federal agency, although it is overseen by the SEC. It regulates one specific part of the securities industry in the U.S.: brokerage firms doing business with the public. What makes the news particularly interesting …

Homero Joshua Garza, the CEO of the now-defunct U.S. crypto firm GAW Miners, has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for defrauding investors, local news agency Hartford Business reports Thursday, September 13. Garza received the verdict in the Hartford federal court, following his guilty plea to a wire fraud charge related to creating and selling a scamcoin dubbed PayCoin (XPY). Instead of serving the original 20 year sentence, Garza will report to prison on January 4, 2019 and be jailed until 2021, with an additional three years of supervised release, including six months in home detention. In addition to …