LOS ANGELES—The global coronavirus pandemic which has about one-third of the world’s population under some form of shutdown order has pushed porn performers online, where they must fend for themselves to make a living by connecting directly with fans — who then pay for the privilege.
But adult industry entertainers have also long experienced well-documented obstacles from the banking industry and Congress, with adult businesses often denied bank accounts simply because they are adult businesses.
It should be unsurprising, then, that according to a report by the cryptocurrency news site Decrypt, payments in crypto for porn performers have risen sharply during the coronavirus pandemic.
The camming site Stripchat reports a 59 percent increase in crypto payments to performers since the beginning of March, the month that most of the lockdowns took effect, according to the report.
SpankChain, a payment platform designed specifically for the adult industry reports a 40 percent boost in payments through its own cryptocurrency SpankPay over the past month.
According to performer Brenna Sparks, crypto has become especially important for cam models in countries that lack a currency with the relative stability of the United States dollar.
“Many of the models live in areas with an unstable currency, so accepting Bitcoin is an extremely important preventative measure they can take today to defend themselves from the inevitable—the collapse of their country's currency,” Sparks told Decrypt.
Even as crypto payments have been on the rise for adult entertainment performers even prior to the coronavirus crisis, Congress has attempted to stop the trend.
In June of 2018, the House passed the “Fight Illicit Networks and Detect (FIND) Trafficking Act,” which would require a “study” of how cryptocurrency is used to allegedly facilitate “sex trafficking.” The bill remains stalled in the Senate, however.
Not all online performers are ready to fully adopt crypto payments, however, even in the midst of the crisis.
“I would accept crypto as a form of tip," OnlyFans top three-percent creator Iconic3ileen told Decrypt. “But for actual content purchases, I'd rather use currency until I can pay bills and buy groceries with cryptocurrency."
Photo by James Tylee / Wikimedia Commons
