Industry News

Blockchain ticketing startup aims to eliminate other forms of delivery

The head of Upgraded, a new blockchain-based operator, believes cryptocurrency technology should eliminate other forms of ticket delivery.

Sandy Khaund, a veteran of Microsoft, Intel, Turner Broadcasting and InStadium, hopes to stamp out ticket touting, fraud and counterfeiting through using blockchain networks, such as Bitcoin and Etherum.

Khaund said about his California-based ticketing distribution mobile app, Upgraded: “It makes the ticket much more than a dumb token. You can set price restrictions. We can also hide the bar code until two hours before the event. And we could make it so that you have to be within one kilometre of the venue for the bar code to appear. The biggest challenge was working with nascent technology.

Many of the largest concerts and events in the UK and US in 2017 faced major issues with touts and counterfeit tickets, with artists like Ed Sheeran and Liam Gallagher calling upon the ticketing industry to put up a stronger fight against scalpers.

Ticketmaster cancelled tickets for Liam Gallagher’s Glasgow shows that were listed on its resale sites by notorious ‘supertout’ Michael Mayiger’s label in response to a backlash from fans.

Khaund said: “It happens a lot. Last year at game seven of the NBA Western Conference championship between the Golden State Warriors and the Oklahoma City Thunder, 86 people got rejected at the gate with tickets they’d bought from StubHub. At least StubHub has a money-back guarantee but those people didn’t get to go to the game.

“My goal isn’t to replace Ticketmaster or StubHub. It’s to be the Intel chip inside of ticketing. When you go to Ticketmaster, you get a drop-down that says PDF, postal service or will call. In the short term, I want to be the fourth option. In the long term, I want to be the only option. The other three options should not exist.”

Another player is UK-based firm Aventus, which  enables secure transfer and resale of tickets with built-in inflation caps that aims to eliminate fraud and ensure that the final user can be identified. The company said this type of technology is of particular importance in light of global terror concerns as it brings an additional security measure for attendees.

Image: BTC Keychain