PayPal has recently stopped processing payments connected to the popular adult website, PornHub. The news wasn’t received well by numerous affected users. However, the company accepts cryptocurrencies, and famous crypto proponents seem to be pushing for further adoption.
PornHub announced today that PayPal cuts off payouts to “over a hundred thousand performers who rely on them for their livelihoods.”
PayPal was one of the more commonly used payment processors that PornHub worked with and now that it’s cut off, this leaves the door open for alternatives such as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Even though the website has been accepting crypto payments for a few years, the actual usage was minimal. A report from last year showed that less than 1% of all payments were actually conducted using any cryptocurrencies.
Yet, the situation might change following PayPal’s decision. As a matter of fact, some of the popular cryptocurrency proponents are being rather vocal about that.
Changpeng Zhao, the founder, and CEO of Binance was among the first to react with a tweet, outlining that this could actually be an opportunity for cryptocurrencies.
Sounds like an opportunity for #crypto? http://t.co/vHG8XrtHU5
— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) November 14, 2019
Tron’s co-founder and CEO, Justin Sun, said that the adult website accepts TRX payments and that they need to add USDT-TRC20 support as well.
Last year, PornHub announced partnership with another popular cryptocurrency – Verge. Similar news came just a week ago when Bloomberg reported about a new deal between a PornHub partner, NetCents, and Ripple.
The topic of mainstream Bitcoin and cryptocurrency adoption has been running for years. In fact, previous news coming from different sources were well-accepted within the community as step in the right direction. Such reports included the Bitcoin trading platforms launch from the second-largest German Stock Exchange.
However, Bitcoin is reportedly being used in other means as well. The notorious online black market, Silk Road, was connected on different occasions with illicit activities that involved cryptocurrency transactions. Additionally, various reports show the usage of Bitcoin for ransom in bomb threats and malware extorting victims while compromising digital wallets containing cryptocurrencies. And yet, it’s worth noting that cash, not Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, remains king when it comes to funding illegal operations.
Of course, it’s worth noting that adult websites don’t exactly have the best reputation within society. Hence, it’s interesting to see if that’s the kind of adoption that cryptocurrencies need.