Escort services take it. Fetish porn websites take it. Even amateur exotic dancers on Reddit take it. Now, Porn.com is the latest adult entertainment service to jump into the bitcoin game—and some are suggesting that the move could spawn a Bitcoin revolution in the adult entertainment industry.
David Kay, the marketing director for Porn.com’s parent company Sagan, says that the porn industry, which is traditionally considered at the forefront of new technologies, has the potential to spur tremendous growth in the bitcoin market. “I definitely believe that porn will be bitcoin’s killer app,” he told the Guardian. “Fast, private, and confidential payments.”
Porn.com first started accepting Bitcoin back in December, with Bitcoin transactions initially accounting for a respectable 10 percent of total sales. But it didn’t really take off until a few weeks ago, when a post on /r/bitcoin led to a huge spike in Porn.com bitcoin transactions, with bitcoin sales accounting for 50 percent of the website’s revenue.
Though bitcoin sales have since slowed down, accounting for a quarter of Porn.com’s revenue, the website is confident that more consumers will hop on the cryptocurrency bandwagon, in large part because of the anonymity it provides users. While most websites require users to supply credit card information, including a full name and address, when signing up for premium services, bitcoin requires none of those things. Kay says this is ideal for the average porn consumer, for whom “privacy and confidentiality are paramount.”
Confidentiality aside, traditional currencies do still have some advantages over bitcoin. Aside from the fact that the bitcoin market is notoriously volatile, transaction fees and difficulties making recurring payments have been a source of aggravation for some bitcoin users. For these reasons, the bitcoin porn revolution probably won’t happen overnight.
But Kay is confident that the porn-loving public will come around eventually, and they’re taking a huge gamble to that effect. Porn.com recently announced they’d be selling their domain name for a cool $50 million—payable only in Bitcoin.
H/T The Guardian | Photo: Flickr, anatanacoins