Crypto for Sex: Blockchain Takes Off in the Adult Entertainment Industry

Cryptocurrencies have become increasingly popular in the adult entertainment industry, as it can guarantee a high level of anonymity to its users, especially for pornography-related businesses.   

Anonymity and Privacy  

Many adult entertainment websites have created new ways users will be able to protect their identity details through crypto payment systems. In a research conducted by the studio VogoV last year, 470 adult video sites, 50 webcam platforms, and 35 sex shops worldwide now accept cryptos as a form of payment. Dash, Monero, and Zcash are considered to be the best coins for private transactions for adult content sites.  

Cryptocurrency transactions are recorded anonymously on a decentralized public ledger, making it challenging to track a person’s pornography habits. For the adult webcam industry, transparency and privacy are the most valued features of crypto, as provides authenticity and parties are known only by online handles and payment addresses.   

There is a fear that people in banks or homes will be able to tell which kinds of adult materials a user consumes through their credit card bills. Getting caught viewing or purchasing adult content may cause significant legal and social risks, especially in certain jurisdictions.  

The increasing interest in cryptocurrencies being used in the adult entertainment industry is a signal that cryptos are here to stay. 

SpankChain  

SpankChain is an Ethereum based cryptocurrency payments processor and is focusing on building blockchain-based economic and technical infrastructures for the adult entertainment industry.   

SpankChain recently partnered with the adult entertainment industry fan platform, JustFor.Fans and an anonymity service that connects models with clients via Skype, SkyPrivate. The partnership allowed for a new service, SpankPay, which will enable users to pay with instant transactions with different cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, ZCash, and Monero. The merchants will receive a 0.5% processing fee when users use the service.  

JustFor.Fans creator, Dominic Ford, said: “Using SpankChain, we don’t have to worry about being shut down due to the fact we are an adult company. We’d much rather support our fellow adult solution providers than use outside solutions that are potentially not adult-friendly.” CEO of SkyPrivate also stated that this partnership ensures individuals are accorded equal rights and payments for their services, mostly focused on sexting services and adult models service e-commerce platforms.   

Pornhub  

Appealing to the privacy concerns of its users, the leading adult entertainment website Pornhub also started accepting crypto payments and began a partnership with Verge, as well as adding TRON and Zcash as payment options.   

“Here at Pornhub, it’s important that we cater to our users’ ever-changing payment preferences and, as such, that means accepting cryptocurrencies as a payment method, which provide users with anonymity and security,” Corey Price, vice president of Pornhub, said at the time. 

Pornhub also partnered with PumaPay to enable recurring cryptocurrency payments for its subscription service.  

CamSoda  

Known as one of the world’s most popular adult entertainment websites, ranking in the top 4000 websites, CamSoda started to accept cryptocurrency payments for various features on its platform.   

Users on the platform can purchase tokens on the website using a variety of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ether, TRON, Monero, and Zcash. Data shows that 1% of CamSoda users already use cryptos as a payment solution, which was more than initially expected.   

Bitcast, one of the platforms developed by CamSoda in December 2018, allows users to combine interactive sex toys with the performance of the best cryptos. CokcBlockchain, which was launched in March 2018 by CamSoda, is a platform that allows users to earn cryptos in exchange for their nude photos.   

Strippers & Bitcoin  

The Legends Room, a strip club in Las Vegas made the first move allowing clients to be able to pay secretly with cryptocurrencies. The strippers have temporary tattoos of QR codes where clients can scan and pay electronically by using cryptocurrencies, mostly Bitcoin. The Legends Room also launched their own ICO, the token known as LGD.  

Images via Shutterstock

Bitcoin, Crypto and Porn: Will the Adult Industry Boost the Market?

Porn is a huge industry, according to research, as much as 40% of the internet is related to porn. 65% of all web traffic during peak hours is devoted to video and audio streaming. 

Data of Porn every second;

28,000 People watching
$3 million being spent 
372 people are typing the word “Adult” into a search engine

This is data by the second. The market is huge. 

In America, all social media tweets from top platforms including Facebook can reach 30% of bandwidth, with streaming services like Netflix at 33.3%. They don’t come close to the adult entertainment industry numbers.

Porn globally is 40%. Think about that.

Crypto and porn partnerships to date 

“SpankChain is a blockchain-based economic and technological infrastructure built for the Adult Entertainment Industry. By developing a framework, we provide sex workers with the core functionality necessary to create and operate a streaming or static content distribution application, while offering a range of services that provide enhanced functionality for these applications.“ — FAQ

They are offering an Ethereum ERC20 token but accept payments including bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC) and Monero (XMR).

Unfortunately, based on data seen on Coinmarketcap, the volume has been relatively steady but the price of the token continues to drop.  

Crypto for Sex: Blockchain Takes Off in the Adult Entertainment Industry

Pornhub

A multi-billion-dollar company in this field is yet another that has entered into toying with crypto payment features. 

Earlier this year, they partnered with Privacy based crypto platform Verge (XVG). Privacy tokens and this industry certainly make a lot of sense. 

Verge has a larger token economy with a strong market ranking and open-source. 

Pornhub had a reported 92 million visitors per day last year (2018) according to their analytics.

Data was also released stating that 1% of the user base paid in crypto. In response to this, Pornhub made further developments in partnership with crypto payment systems, PumaPay joining the billion-dollar company. 

If the 1% continue to increase, what effect can it apply to the crypto markets?

Is adult entertainment a market for crypto?

“In 2016 enough porn was watched, that if we took all of the data and stored it on USB drives, the distance would get us to the moon.“—Original quote 

It’s one way to get to the moon, right?

Mass adoption will take time, but if Crypto can ride the porn industry to the top, it might happen a little bit faster. 

Currently the main cases against crypto include;

Ease of use 
Design interfaces

In the very worst case, if this market can truly continue to grow, people would have every chance to test, improve and continue to develop our mind set of what cryptocurrency is. 

If we are currently at 1% of this market with major players becoming more determined to adopt the technology, the future can only be a happy one. 

What do you think? Is it a match? Or a left swipe?

Tell us in the comments below.

Image via Shutterstock

The Top Dapps to Consider Using in 2020

 

Dapps have brought a significant change in the field of blockchain technology. They are a new type of software applications, which does not undergo downtime, and cannot be shut down by anybody, and are not owned by a central authority. They are open-source software, which uses smart contracts to run transactions on a blockchain. Decentralized applications are making inroads in various fields like gambling, technology, education, finance, and other domains. 

MakerDao 

MakerDao is a decentralized credit service that runs on the Ethereum blockchain platform. Maker consists of community governance, collateral loans, and decentralized stablecoin (Dai). 

Digital assets like Ether and Bitcoin are highly volatile and cannot be used as a day-to-day currency. The Dai cryptocurrency is stablecoin whose value is attached to the US dollar. 

Stablecoins such as Dai is necessary for realizing the entire potential of blockchain. Dai strengthens financial services in the cryptocurrency world with stable prices against fiat currencies. 

Anybody can use MakerDAO to open a CDP (collateralized debt position), lock in Ethereum as collateral, and generate Dai as a debt against that collateral. 

MetaMask 

MetaMask is a type of bridge, which allows users to run Ethereum Dapps directly in the browser without running a full Ethereum node. With its secure identity wall, MetaMask provides users with a platform to manage their identities on various sites and initiate transactions in the blockchain. Any user can install the MetaMask add-on in Opera, Firefox, and Chrome.  

LivePeer

LivePeer is a Dapp which was launched in 2017. Developers use it for adding on-demand or live videos for their projects. LivePeer’s main aim is to increase video streaming and minimize its scaling cost. The rising demand for live streaming amongst consumers for news and entertainment has led to LivePeer’s growth. LivePeer aims to reduce the price of transactions based on the use of crypto-economic incentive mechanisms. 

Votechain 

Votechain is a form of a decentralized voting system that runs on a blockchain network. The voting system aims to improve the voting procedure and reduce fraud during voting by implementing a hybrid of both digital and physical blockchain voting options. 

The creators designed the app in connection with suspected voting fraud in 2018 Mexico’s elections. This application will offer users the facility to vote from their mobile phones. 

MTonomy 

MTonomy is a decentralized application that provides secure blockchain infrastructure to monetize, distribute, and license digital media content like books, music, and movies. 

MTonomy provides rights and content management services for distributors, service providers, and content owners, including the leading cryptocurrency-based VOP application for consumers. In other words, MTonomy is a streaming platform for cryptocurrency users. 

Ethlance   

Ethlance is a kind of job market platform built entirely on a blockchain. Anybody can access it as its database is built on the Ethereum public blockchain network. The platform uses crypto for payments. 

Ethlance doesn’t charge any fees, and the entire amount paid by the employers is passed to the freelancers. The only cost that participants have to bear is the gas for transacting on the network. 

SpankChain 

SpankChain is an adult entertainment platform powered by blockchain technology. It was built by using the concept of Ethereum. 

The platform offers complete privacy by eliminating the need for third-party intermediaries through the use of smart contracts. The Dapp has been recognized as a revolutionary technological and economic platform for the adult industry. 

SpankChain Shuts Down SpankPay Crypto Payment Processor

SpankChain, an Ethereum-based blockchain platform designed to help adult content creators cut out traditional banks and intermediaries, has closed its crypto payment processor, SpankPay. The closure comes after the company lost its payment service provider, Wyre, in February due to “violations of any third-party payment processor or network rules.” SpankPay attempted to find another service provider, but all attempts were rejected due to the adult industry nature of their business.

In a Twitter thread, SpankPay announced that the decision to close the payment processor was due to the escalating hostility of the banking environment towards adult industry payment processors, which had made it untenable for the small team and niche market it served. Despite the shutdown, the company reassured users that their money was safe and would be returned as soon as possible.

SpankPay was launched in July 2019 as an adult-industry-friendly payment solution that enabled adult entertainers and merchants to accept cryptocurrency for their services. The closure of SpankPay is a significant blow to SpankChain, as the platform was a key part of its blockchain ecosystem.

The adult entertainment industry has always faced challenges with traditional banking systems, as banks have been reluctant to work with the industry due to its controversial nature. SpankChain sought to change this by providing a blockchain-based platform that allowed adult content creators to transact directly with their customers, cutting out traditional intermediaries.

The closure of SpankPay highlights the ongoing challenges faced by the adult entertainment industry in accessing traditional banking services. The industry has been forced to rely on alternative payment methods, such as cryptocurrencies, to transact with customers. The use of cryptocurrencies has enabled adult content creators to access a global market and avoid the restrictions imposed by traditional banks.

Despite the challenges, SpankChain remains committed to advancing the adult industry and has promised to continue developing and investing in products that serve the niche market it serves. The closure of SpankPay is a significant setback for the company, but it is determined to continue to innovate and find new ways to help adult content creators succeed in the digital age.

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