The Adult Industry Is Hoping to Penetrate Crypto

Like cannabis (which we covered last month), the adult industry seems like the perfect use-case for cryptocurrency. Porn alone is a $97 billion industry that accounts for 12 percent of Internet traffic. That doesn’t include strip clubs ($7 billion industry) or sex toys ($20+ billion industry). Discretion is often necessary in these industries, as people don’t always want their significant others, parents, friends, law enforcement, or the general public knowing about their sex lives.

Sex work is infested with privacy and payment issues, although the industry is historically ahead of the tech curve. In 2013, VIP Passion became the first escort service to accept bitcoin, long before mainstream companies like Expedia jumped on the bandwagon. The porn industry was among the first to support VHS and Blu-Ray, instant cameras, AOL, online payments, and virtual reality.

Are cryptocurrency and the blockchain the next big technologies to be nurtured to success by the sex industry?

We investigated a handful of the sex-related cryptos on the market to find out.

Fumbling Through Gimmicks

Sex is a hot-button issues these days, and the #metoo and #timesup movements brought the issue of consent front-and-center. Not long after Aziz Ansari was falsely accused of sexual assault, 100 French female intellectuals and luminaries, including actress Catherine Deneuve, denounced those movements in an open letter as having gone too far. At one point, the letter mockingly suggests a mobile app for adults to consent to sexual acts before performing them.

That concept exists in the form of LegalFling, a blockchain-based consent app created by Dutch company LegalThings. The app is currently in beta and promises to address the gray areas of sexual consent. Users select their sexual preferences (in categories ranging from birth control usage and STD testing to bondage, explicit language, and photography/videography) then send fling requests through the app’s messaging service. Once the fling request is accepted, it’s recorded on the blockchain.

Obviously, such a concept is little more than a gimmick. Consent is a fluid concept, and it can be retracted at any time. A blockchain record would do little to defend against accusations of rape. But a digital blockchain contract isn’t the only way the sex industry is looking to redefine cryptocurrency. There are also several adult-themed tokens on the market (and even more launching this year).

Making Crypto Sexy

A cryptocurrency based entirely on sex isn’t necessary for sex workers to remain anonymous. Many cryptocurrencies – Monero, Zcash, Dash, and Verge are a few – provide anonymity. Still, there are over a dozen current and pending ICOs that cater directly to the adult industry.

PornX – The PornX Project is based on the Lightning Network, and the PornX token is a decentralized ERC20 token on the Ethereum blockchain. The presale ended on Feb 28, and the ICO is set for March 18, with a soft cap of 10,000 ETH and a total supply of 340,000,000.

Animation Vision Cash – The AVH trading platform is a decentralized content publishing network built on the Ethereum blockchain to allow copyright owners to sell digital content to peers. The total supply is 10,000,000,000 tokens, and the current market value as of March 5, 2018 is $0.018281.

Eroiy – Eroiy was designed as an anonymous payment method to protect consumer privacy when purchasing adult content online. It’s based on the NEM blockchain, and the pre-sale ended Feb 28, with a soft cap of $1,000,000 and a total supply of 2,000,000,000.

Spankchain – Spankchain is built on the Ethereum blockchain and is directly targeted at eliminating third-party intermediaries for cam models, as evidenced by its Cryptotitties product. As of March 5, there are 300,043,386 SPANKs circulating out of a total supply of 1,000,000,000 with a market cap of $77,061,643.

TittieCoin – TittieCoin launched in 2014 as a scrypt coin fork of the Bitcoin-Qt client. It aims to be the official currency of (we wish we were kidding) Tittie Island, an as-yet-undeveloped “luxury resort style holiday destination with timeshare possibilities.” As of March 5, it has a market cap of $1,001,661 and a total supply of 1,259,816,434.

Titcoin – Titcoin is created by developer Joy Toilet, whose first project was a game called “Triple X Tycoon.” The company’s goal is to change the public perception of the adult industry and has plans to integrate Titcoin into Triple X Tycoon soon. It’s an SHA-256 token with a total supply of 69,000,000 and a market cap of $792,528 as of March 5.

Vice Industry Token – The Vice Industry Token is an ERC20 token on the Ethereum platform and is designed to pay people to watch porn and is partnered with Penthouse, Red Hot, and more. The ICO ends March 20, and there is a total supply of 2,000,000,000 VIT with a price of $0.05 per VIT.

Porn Corn – Pcorn was developed as a more anonymous way to perform adult transactions for VR, AR, 3D and 8k porn content through the company’s proprietary service. The ICO ended November 2017. It’s based on the Ethereum blockchain and the total supply is 1,000,000,000 PCC.

FAPcoin – FAPcoin’s ICO ended December 2017. It’s an ERC20 token on the Ethereum blockchain. It promises more secure adult transactions and the total supply of FAP is 500,000,000 and the current price is $0.003711 per token as of March 5.

Nocta – Nocta was designed as a decentralized platform for paying for anonymous sex built on the Ethereum network. The ICO ends March 23, and the total supply is 300,000,000.

SexService.io – SexService.io is a sex and dating service based on the Ethereum blockchain. Its ICO ended October 2017 and there’s a total supply of 150,000,000 SSIO on the market.

VanillaPlay – VanillaPlay is a decentralized video chat platform that pays content creators, consumers, and affiliates for using its service. It’s built on the Ethereum blockchain. The ICO ended October 2017 and the total supply is 150,000,000 VPY.

Livestars – Livestars is another Ethereum-based ERC20 token directed at live webcam models. It promises higher revenue shares, no payout minimums, and fast payments. Its ICO ended Feb 2018 and the total supply is $200,000,000 LIVE.

SexCoin – Sexcoin is a proprietary scrypt-based coin meant for purchases on the Sexcoin Maid store. The ICO ended December 2013. There’s a total supply of 126,238,732 SXC, which currently has a market cap of $4,352,888 as of March 5.

The Legends Room – The Legends Room is the first strip club in Las Vegas to accept Bitcoin. Dancers use temporary QR tattoos to accept payments, and members can spend 5000 LGD for VIP membership. There’s a total supply of 30,000,000 LGD, with a market cap of $1,773,444 as of March 5.

Intimate – Intimate is another Ethereum-based token designed to provide anonymity to the sex industry. The token can be used on the Rendevu escort marketplace and there’s a total supply of 100,000,000 ITM. It’s currently pre-ICO.

These are the players for now, and more are sure to pile on in the near future. Which one you choose seems to depend on which platform you prefer and your role (sex worker, consumer, or affiliate). No sex-based crypto has stood out from the pack yet, but we’ll be sure to keep watching in case one does.