Earlier this week, Dutch billionaire John De Mol launched a lawsuit against Facebook over crypto ads using his image without permission. De Mol claims that consumers have lost as much as 1.7 million euros (over $1.9 million) due to the ads, and his reputation was damaged as a result. It is not the first time the California-based media giant is being sued over fake bitcoin ads — and, despite Facebook’s efforts to eliminate the problem, it seems that the issue persists. Brief introduction to Facebook’s relationship with crypto ads In January 2018, Facebook became the first major social media platform …

John De Mol, a Dutch billionaire responsible for the local Big Brother and The Voice shows, filed a lawsuit against Facebook over crypto ads using his image without permission, Reuters reports on June 5. Per the report, the ads promoted cryptocurrency scams using Mol’s image, which allegedly damaged his reputation. The ads in question reportedly advertised fake cryptocurrency-related businesses or encouraged users to send money to buy bitcoin (BTC), all while claiming that the projects have Mol’s baking or involvement. According to Reuters, Mol’s lawyers claim that consumers have lost €1.7 million (over $1.9 million) as a consequence of such …

Amsterdam-based crypto exchange Blockport will attempt a relaunch after the firm said it would shut down its platform by the end of May, tech news outlet The Next Web reports on June 4. On May 22, Blockport was declared bankrupt by a Dutch court, following the firm’s unsuccessful security token offering (STO) of Blockport Securities (BPT) tokens. Blockport first announced its STO in March, describing its BPS token as a security token that is pegged to a stake in Blockport and enables holders to profit sharing through dividends. Launched on April 16, the STO reportedly offered investors the ability to …

Dutch bank Rabobank has reportedly canceled its plans to develop a cryptocurrency wallet, technology news outlet The Next Web states on May 23. As Cointelegraph reported, the bank had announced a cryptocurrency wallet service dubbed “Rabobit” as a part of the Rabobank Moonshot fintech innovation program in February last year. Still, a spokesperson of the bank reportedly told the outlet that: “After careful consideration with our customers in mind we recently decided that now is not the time to develop the idea further and bring it to the next phase of innovation.” The Rabobank representative also reportedly stated that the …

Dutch, Luxembourg authorities and Europol have shut down one of the three largest cryptocurrency tumblers, Europol reported on May 22. A cryptocurrency tumbler, also known as a cryptocurrency mixing service, is an anonymity tool that claims to transform transactions of non-private coins to private ones by mixing crypto funds with others, which makes it difficult to track the funds’ original source. According to the report, the Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD) has now seized six servers of major crypto tumbler Bestmixer.io, which had a reported turnover of at least $200 million since its launch in May 2018. The …

Disclaimer. This article has been updated to change the amount involved in the fraud case, as it was misreported in an English version of a Dutch article on the subject. Dutch police have arrested a former entrepreneur for fraud after alleging he conned investors in a fake bitcoin (BTC) mining operation out of €23 million ($25 million), Dutch daily news outlet De Gelderlander reported on May 21. According to reports, Barry van Mourik, who previously ran another cryptocurrency company also under suspicion, deceived clients into thinking they would earn money from bitcoin mining. Posing as the operator of a mining …

Dutch bank ABN AMRO announced that it is launching a blockchain inventory tracking platform dubbed Forcefield in a press release published on May 17. Per the announcement, the platform is an Internet of Things solution that allows the monitoring of physical trade inventories with sensors and near-field communication chips. Forcefield was developed over the past year as a stand-alone product and became an independent company following a successful proof-of-concept that was conducted with consulting firm Accenture. The bank claims that the system can lead to more secure physical handling processes and a reduction of costs in the management of commodities …

Dutch bank ABN AMRO abandoned its plans to launch a custodial bitcoin (BTC) wallet dubbed “Wallie” because of risk concerns, according to a report published on May 20 by tech news outlet The Next Web. Per the report, the bank’s senior press officer, Jarco de Swart, said in an email to the outlet that the bank decided not to continue its plans after it “concluded that cryptocurrencies because of their unregulated nature are at the moment too risky assets for our clients to invest in.” The rumors concerning alleged tests of the wallet first started spreading in January. Still, according …

The Netherlands' central bank will continue to experiment with blockchain, but its to-date findings are “not that positive,” according to the bank’s director of payments. Finance publication The Banker reported on the comments on May 1. Petra Hielkema, director of payments and market infrastructures at the De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), claimed that embracing new technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) will be a key direction in the DNB Payments Strategy 2018-2021. Hielkema urged that central banks should keep developing and invest in new technologies in order to find out how to use them safely. While expressing confidence in …

Dutch blockchain startup Finturi has secured 2 million euro ($2.2 million) to enable businesses to secure loans against invoices via blockchain tech, the company tweeted on March 12. Founded in September 2018, Finturi aims to help businesses finance invoices by linking them with financiers to borrow money against invoices, using blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI), according to a report by startup-focused publication EU-Startups.com on March 11. Finturi has reportedly raised its first investment via an angel round led by NetSam Participaties BV, which evidently participated in an investment round for the first time, according to Crunchbase. Finturi’s blockchain-based invoice finance …

A Bitcoin (BTC) trader has been attacked in his home in the Netherlands by a group of robbers disguised as the police, local news outlet De Telegraaf reported on Feb. 23. A 38-year Tjeerd H. was reportedly the victim of a violent raid in his home in Drouwenerveen on Feb. 10, wherein a group of criminals wearing balaclavas and bulletproof vests with a police coat threatened him with firearms. While the motive of the raid is not clearly established, De Telegraaf conducted their own investigation revealing that H. had been trading cryptocurrency. De Telegraaf notes in the report that sources …

Dutch technology company ElaadNL has developed a Proof of Concept (PoC) for a smart power grid for electric vehicles using internet of things (IoT)-focused IOTA Tangle technology, according to the company’s announcement on Feb. 14. Per the announcement, the PoC shows the ability of smart grids to not only consume power, but also generate it and autonomously redistribute it amongst community members. The initiative was based on IOTA’s Tangle technology, which purportedly lets the charging devices autonomously decide whether there is need to help balance grid load. In addition, the charging stations can earn a IOTA tokens by charging electric …