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CryptoCann™ Report: Ticketmaster uses blockchain to combat ticket fraud; Girl Guide sells every last box of cookies outside Canadian dispensary

Last updated: 15:50 19 Oct 2018 BST, First published: 15:31 19 Oct 2018 BST

Girl Scout holding boxes of cookies

The Crypto Report

Ticket fraud is a growing problem in the events industry and ticketing giant Ticketmaster thinks blockchain may be the solution.

The company has acquired blockchain-based live events company Upgrade for an undisclosed amount.

"Ticketmaster is constantly exploring emerging technologies, and there aren't many that have the unique possibilities of blockchain," said Justin Burleigh, chief product officer at Ticketmaster, North America, in the company’s press release.

Through its latest acquisition, the company will be able to add encrypted barcodes to its tickets, hoping to prevent the fraud that can occur with paper or PDF tickets.

READ: Data mining company Palantir considering 2019 IPO valued at $41 billion, says WSJ

Crypto and blockchain enthusiasts looking to make a career out of their interests may be in luck.

Blockchain-related job listings in the US have seen a 300% year-over-year increase, according to a report by job site Glassdoor. The study found a total of 1,775 blockchain-based job openings in August 2018 compared with 446 opportunities last August.

Most of the job listings called for software engineers, making up 19% of the total listings. Engineering, technology and science roles accounted for 55% of the openings.

The top cities looking to fill blockchain positions include New York City and San Francisco, making up 45% of the listings. San Jose, Chicago and Seattle also made the cut.

ConsenSys, IBM Corp (NYSE:IBM), Coinbase and Kraken were the top employers looking to fill blockchain-based positions.

The Cann Report

Cannabis legalization has made its way to Canada, Uruguay and a handful of US states, but the effects of what that means for those places remain to be seen.

A study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found states that legalized recreational marijuana saw an increase in car accidents.

READ: The Cannabix Marijuana Breathalyzer to give police, employers tools to enforce safety

The study found that crashes increased by 6% in Washington, Oregon and Colorado, compared with states without legalized marijuana.

“States considering recreational marijuana legalization should weigh the impact of a higher crash rate and consider how enforcement and education can be developed to counteract a rise in impaired driving,” concluded the study.

In lighter news, a nine-year-old Girl Guide, similar to a Girl Scout in the US, sold every last box of cookies when she and her father set up shop in front of a Canadian dispensary on legalization day.

The girl sold all 30 boxes in less than 45 minutes for a total of $120, as per a CBC report.

"Everybody was respectful, everybody was happy, and she walked away from it as this incredibly positive experience as well as selling out all her Brownie cookies. She can go and be happy that she'd done that and help support the Guides too,” said the girl’s father in an interview with CBC.

The father said he saw it as an opportunity not only to sell cookies but to educate his daughter on marijuana now that it’s legal in Canada.

 

Contact Lenore Fedow at lenore@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow her on Twitter@LenoreMariee

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