If you’re anything like me, the world of cryptocurrencies seems confusing at best and shady AF at worst. I assume that people use the alt-money, as it were, to buy things they probably shouldn’t be. However, it looks like one of these currencies is going slightly above ground, having earned a seal of approval from the most prominent porn site in the world, Pornhub. The adult entertainment site is now accepting payments for its premium content in Verge, a type of “privacy-focused” digital currency.
Verge was created back in 2014 under the name DogeCoinDark. According to a spokesperson for Pornhub, users had explicitly asked for it as a payment option in a post on the site’s suggestion page. The adult entertainment site said in a statement, “Verge is a secure and anonymous cryptocurrency, which is very near and dear to us here at Pornhub." Pornhub said that Verge "provides that extra layer of security many people look for, particularly in the adult entertainment industry.” As Pornhub explains, Verge keeps transactions anonymous “by obfuscating the IP address and geolocation of its users so that they are untraceable.” Privacy is an understandable desire, I guess, when trolling for spank material. However, it’s this aspect of cryptocurrencies that has also made them popular for buying illegal goods on sites like Silk Road, a black market online marketplace that was shut down in 2014.
Mind you, most of Pornhub’s revenue comes from advertising. It also turns a profit from its streaming-subscription service, Pornhub Premium. While Verge may be popping Pornhub’s cryptocurrency cherry (sorry, I had to), its parent company, MindGeek, has accepted cryptocurrency payments in the past. Last month, Playboy.TV (also owned by MindGeek), started accepting cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ethereum.
