Could crypto be the answer to the OnlyFans controversy?

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Over the past week or so, no news has been more shocking around the world than OnlyFans’ decision to ban certain types of adult content from the platform focused on user-generated content.

The whole world wondered why the company would kill its money generator and what made it such a household name in the first place, a move that in the past has killed other money-centric platforms. adults such as Tumblr.

The CEO of the company explained that this was all really because banks and other money service providers were pressuring the company, as they did with PornHub and other adult content brands. With banks at the center of this controversy, could cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or decentralized blockchain technology be the solution to the problem companies like OnlyFans face?

OnlyFans reveals shocking ban on adult content

In the past year, and then since the start of the pandemic and lockdown conditions sweeping the world, savvy individuals have turned to the internet to find sources of income to compensate for jobs they can no longer go to. Many have turned to Bitcoin margin trading and the stock market on platforms like PrimeXBT and Robinhood, which has made trading a popular option for digital workers who want to work using their minds. Others have chosen platforms like OnlyFans and put their bodies to work instead.

The adult work industry is always surrounded by stigma and this creates a negative perception around everything it touches. As OnlyFans has exploded in popularity, it has placed additional control over the payment providers that digital content creators use to cash in their income from monthly subscription fees.

OnlyFans Ban Due To Bank Pressure, Says CEO

After the initial shock and fear that OnlyFans would remove most forms of adult content from their website, especially the explicitly sexual content that helped propel the platform to internet stardom, the online community immediately took to assumed that this decision was made to appease potential investors.

However, OnlyFans CEO Tim Stokely revealed it had more to do with pressure from big banks and other payments giants.

We have not changed this policy to make it easier to find investors, Stokely told the Financial Times. The policy change, we had no choice, the short answer is the banks, said Stokely.

Mastercard and VISA step up control over content sources

Other payment giants like VISA and Mastercard have recently used their influence to impact PornHub and other adult-centric businesses. Mastercard is rolling out new rules from October 1, 2021 to this effect, however, Stokely says that didn’t impact the decision as the platform is already compliant with this policy change.

However, it does demonstrate the pressure these adult businesses are under from payment providers, banks, etc. Much of the scrutiny is due to heightened fears that the payments could fund illegal activities like child pornography or human trafficking.

These are horrific atrocities and real challenges, but crime will find a way with or without the banks. In fact, ditching the banks altogether might be how the OnlyFans ecosystem could adapt and survive, without completely shutting down its money generator.

How decentralized technology could help change adult work

Cryptocurrencies are built on a decentralized and distributed ledger technology called blockchain. This technology was first introduced alongside Bitcoin, and arguably this is what makes Bitcoin so special.

Bitcoin was created to remove the need for banks and other third-party intermediaries from the financial system, and allow users and businesses to be their own banks. Using technology, anyone can receive, send, or store crypto assets that have monetary value.

With no third party intermediary involved like a bank or Mastercard and VISA, no company will pressure business operations or impose difficult changes that could cripple a company’s business model.

Not to mention the huge impact the creator community will feel as a result of this crackdown, as thousands of digital content creators will soon be deprived of their primary source of income.

Creators of digital content to switch to crypto

A move to a fully decentralized system will not be easy, and it would take not only the business, but also the content creators to fully embrace the new system. But when given the choice between making no income or making crypto instead of money, content creators could be swayed.

OnlyFans itself could continue its lucrative business model, leaving the blockchain-based ecosystem to grow without any oversight from financial service providers. A ban would not be necessary and the banks would no longer be involved and would no longer come under scrutiny.

There could be an unfortunate side effect that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are then associated with pornography, sex, and potentially more crime, but even cash is routinely used for these purposes.

How crypto is the solution to the fan-only situation

The OnlyFans situation is a prime example of how decentralized technologies can mitigate the challenges posed by third-party intermediaries. The third parties that currently control, such as banks and governments, are slowly losing control. As control slips away from them, they attempt to tighten their remaining grip on the situation, as we see now.

Bitcoin was created so that in the future third parties cannot have the same level of control over money. The technology has since been adapted to accommodate all kinds of other situations. A new system could be created or an existing cryptocurrency adapted for use with OnlyFans. Even Bitcoin itself could serve this purpose.

Regardless of what comes next, OnlyFans and its community of digital content creators can give the crypto market a nod. Bitcoin and crypto have slowly slipped under the control of banks, governments and more. Suddenly the banks are now embracing crypto on their own and there are big bills on Capitol Hill that are crypto focused. The technology isn’t going away, and third parties must now change their rules for crypto instead of forcing crypto to play by their rules, which is exactly what OnlyFans hopes to achieve by adopting a decentralized and focused payments platform. on crypto to fuel its services.

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