Playboy Enterprises, the parent company of Playboy Magazine, is suing cryptocurrency company Global Blockchain Technologies (GBT) on allegations of fraud and breach of contract, according to a report from L.A. Times.
The company had announced a partnership with GBT earlier in March, upon revealing that it was developing an online payment wallet with cryptocurrency support across its chain of businesses.
The idea was to trial the adoption of a new cryptocurrency called Vice Industry Token (VIT) with a new wallet on Playboy.TV before expanding to other entertainment media channels and platforms owned by the company. The lifestyle brand had also suggested that customers will be able to earn and pay Vice tokens to view content, as well as to comment and vote for content.
According to the report in L.A Times, Playboy Enterprises had filed a lawsuit in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, where it claimed to have entered an agreement with Canada-based GBT to implement the blockchain technology into Playboy magazine’s online channels. The report says that GBT was expected to integrate third-party cryptocurrency VIT tokens on the network of sites owned by the media company.
The Beverly Hills-based Playboy is now seeking “unspecified compensatory and punitive damages,” as it claims GBT hasn’t made good on the deal which includes a $4 million payment, which the blockchain company promised to pay.
In its defense, GBT believes it has a “strong defense to the action” filed by Playboy Enterprises and the company says it will be “vigorously defending same” in court.
Due to the privacy concerns that cryptocurrency resolves, a number of adult entertainment brands have been exploring the industry with the aim of circumventing traditional payment options like wire transfers and credit cards and their hefty processing fees.
Pornhub and Brazzers are two of the major adult sites that currently accept cryptocurrency payments, while porn star Stormy Daniels — now best known as U.S. President Donald Trump’s former mistress — also accepts Vice tokens on her personal website.
Source: https://www.ccn.com/playboy-sues-cryptocurrency-company-for-breach-of-contract/