HomeCryptoPornHub: cryptocurrencies replace credit cards

PornHub: cryptocurrencies replace credit cards

PornHub has added several types of cryptocurrencies to its payment methods

While previously only Verge, Tether, Tron and Pumapay were included, the porn giant had to choose alternative ways following the blocking of Visa and MasterCard

When trying to sign up for the PornHub premium service, the message reads something like this: 

“Unfortunately we are unable to accept credit cards at this moment.”

To solve this serious problem, users can choose to pay by SEPA transfer, or in some cases using cryptocurrencies.

As of today, these are the ones that are accepted:

  • Bitcoin;
  • Bitcoin Cash;
  • Dash;
  • Ethereum;
  • Ethereum Classic;
  • Litecoin;
  • Monero;
  • NEM;
  • Tether;
  • Tron;
  • Verge;
  • Waves;
  • Zcash;
  • Pumapay.

Why did PornHub choose cryptocurrencies: the NYT article

What happened to cause two giants such as Visa and MasterCard to end their relationship with Porhnub? It all stems from a New York Times article with the eloquent title: The Children of PornHub, by Nicholas Kristof.

According to the author, PornHub is populated with rape videos. It reads:

“Its site is infested with rape videos. It monetizes child rapes, revenge pornography, spy cam videos of women showering, racist and misogynist content, and footage of women being asphyxiated in plastic bags. A search for “girls under18” (no space) or “14yo” leads in each case to more than 100,000 videos. Most aren’t of children being assaulted, but too many are”.

The article was a real low blow for PornHub, so much so that in no time Visa and MasterCard decided to distance themselves from the platform, which by the way, gets more views than Netflix.

PornHub had to react by deleting millions of videos. Motherboard noted that the platform went from 13.5 million to 4.7 million videos in just a few days. 

As explained on the blog, PornHub had to make drastic decisions, removing videos from unverified accounts and leaving only those produced by partners or Model Program members. 

The echo of the scandal has not yet died down, because it has highlighted many reprehensible behaviours, such as abusing minors, or receiving consensually shot intimate videos, but then publishing them on the platform without authorization. These are cases that have affected the lives of the unwitting protagonists

Cryptocurrencies may have solved the problem of payments, but PornHub is now left with the more serious task of better controlling its content.

 

Eleonora Spagnolo
Eleonora Spagnolo
Journalist passionate about the web and the digital world. She graduated with honours in Multimedia Publishing at the University La Sapienza in Rome and completed a master's degree in Web and Social Media Marketing.
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