CRYPTO MEETS PORN?

Pornhub has started accepting cryptocurrency as a payment option, the company announced today. The site now accepts Verge cryptocurrency (no relation to The Verge), a rebranded version of Dogecoindark, which split off from the original meme coin, Dogecoin, in 2014. Now, users can pay for any Pornhub features, including a Premium subscription, using Verge cryptocurrency. Pornhub’s adult sister sites, Brazzers and Nutaku, also accept Verge cryptocurrency now.

Verge cryptocurrency is anonymity-focused, which is why Pornhub executives say they chose it over other potential partners. It should be noted that anyone can view Verge cryptocurrency transactions through its public ledger, but it uses the anonymity tool Tor and an anonymous network layer I2P to hide specific transactions’ IP addresses and locations. Since public ledgers often have their downfalls in protecting anonymity, users also choose to hide on Verge cryptocurrency’s private ledger.

Corey Price, VP at Pornhub, tells The Verge that cryptocurrency offers “convenience and security.” It’s a dubious statement, considering most digital coins have high transaction fees and volatile prices that can be a hassle for users. Companies like Valve and Stripe have ended their cryptocurrency support for those very reasons. Stripe has even gone as far as adding cryptocurrency to its prohibited businesses list.

“WE’VE BEEN LOOKING AT CRYPTO FOR QUITE SOME TIME”
Verge cryptocurrency has been pretty volatile, like other popular digital coins. Last December, when most digital currencies were on the rise, Verge cryptocurrency hit nearly $0.22 per coin but has since dropped back down. On the heels of this announcement today, it rose to about 10 cents per coin, which is still low compared to more popular digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

“We’ve been looking at crypto for quite some time,” says Price, adding that Pornhub’s partner sites did accept limited cryptocurrencies back when Bitcoin had newly emerged as a digital currency. Still, Pornhub wasn’t one of the sites to include cryptocurrency as a payment method back then, likely because Bitcoin’s prices were still low.

Price says that even though “overall adoption is relatively low, we think it has gained enough steam for us to penetrate the market.” As regulators consider different ways of tackling the cryptocurrency industry, the company also has a legal team and accountants that have assured Price and his team “in the legitimacy of the adoption.”