Key Points:
- Web3 Empowers Creators: Web3 platforms like Only1 and Friend.tech are shifting power from intermediaries to adult content creators, giving them more control and higher earnings.
- Circumventing Payment Issues: Adult models are turning to crypto-powered platforms like WetSpace to avoid payment challenges and influence from traditional banks.
- Decentralization vs. Centralization: The move towards decentralized platforms is a response to censorship risks on centralized platforms like OnlyFans, ensuring autonomy over content.
Amid concerns about payment reliability and potential censorship, models on platforms like OnlyFans and Patreon are increasingly turning to Web3 solutions.
In August, Patreon creators faced payment challenges when bank transactions were flagged as fraudulent, highlighting the vulnerabilities of centralized payment systems. Additionally, the memory of OnlyFans’ attempted ban on explicit content in 2021 still lingers, underscoring the risk of deplatforming for content creators.
I told the credit card company the charge was valid, fine. Patreon sent an email saying “click here to update your payment” and that link goes to a 404 error. My list of supported creators is gone, I have to try to remember who I was supporting – there is nothing on the site 2/
— Jason Pargin, author of John Dies at the End, etc (@JasonKPargin) August 2, 2023
Leon Lee, the founder and CEO of Only1, a decentralized alternative to OnlyFans, believes that Web3 is ushering in a shift of power from intermediaries to content creators. He remarked, “The role of intermediaries is diminishing, while the role and earnings of creators are increasing.”
Only1, launched on the Solana blockchain in March 2023 with the backing of Animoca Brands, is just one example of startups seeking to revolutionize adult subscription platforms through decentralization.
1/ Introducing the Creator Economy 4.0
Traditional creator subscription platforms fell short when it comes to payments, incentives and censorship. This is all about to change, starting here on @solana.
Read on 👇 pic.twitter.com/TABSvzO1HX
— Only1 (@JoinOnly1) August 22, 2023
In 2022, Allie Rae, an OnlyFans model, introduced WetSpace, a crypto-powered adult content platform as an alternative to traditional platforms. Rae aimed to circumvent the pressures creators faced from banks, which often influenced platform policies. She explained, “I started to figure out that the banks really were largely in part the driving force behind some of those decisions that platforms were having to make. And so that naturally led to me: How do you get rid of the banks? And crypto came out like a knight in shining armor.”
More recently, creators on OnlyFans have migrated to Friend.tech, a new decentralized social media platform built on Coinbase’s layer-2 network Base. Lee believes that as more creators recognize the drawbacks of centralized intermediaries and censorship rules, a significant migration to decentralized platforms will occur. He stated, “Creators are already waking up to the fact and are becoming less dependent on intermediaries to monetize.”
gm web3. im shaking rn 💛 officially 1 / 292 FT girl@friendtech when merch? i’ll rock it. pic.twitter.com/Qm84AajCWt
— gracie♡ (@ilovegraciexo) September 4, 2023
While Lee acknowledged the continued presence of TV producers, advertisers, and brands in the creator economy, he sees blockchain-based peer-to-peer payment infrastructure as the “next logical step” for creators. This shift would eliminate reliance on traditional payment processors and grant Web3 communities full autonomy over content policies.
Since OnlyFans’ adult content censorship scare, creators have been creating backup accounts on various platforms to mitigate the risk of deplatforming.
Proof of Peach, SEXN, and Keyhole are three other adult entertainment platforms operating in the Web3 space. Lee anticipates that more creators will gravitate toward decentralized platforms that offer them “full autonomy” over their content and complete ownership of their earnings. He emphasized, “It is an inevitable future where there will no longer be any intermediaries between fans and creators — this is an obvious but unrealized potential of blockchain technology.
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