Adult entertainment streaming site Pornhub has announced a partnership with cryptocurrency Verge (XVG) and will now accept the coin as payment for Pornhub Premium and all Pornhub purchases, according to a press release published today, April 17.
Pornhub’s website promoted the partnership with a short YouTube video, titled “The Future Has Cum,” of a futuristic dialogue in the year 2077 between a grandfather and his grandson about how Verge became the currency of the world:
The introduction to the video notes that “[b]uilding on Verge's core values of security, anonymity and practicality, the introduction of this cryptocurrency as a means of payment Pornhub signifies an important foray into the future from the industry that is always on the cutting edge of technology.”
Pornhub Vice President Corey Price said in the press release that “[n]ot only is this an exciting announcement for us and the adult entertainment industry, it's exciting for the crypto space”:
“History has proven that the adult entertainment industry plays a critical role in adoption for innovative technology. We saw that with VHS, Beta Max, credit card payment icons and, most recently, VR goggles. We expect to see widespread adoption of crypto and blockchain in short order."
Price’s words echo that of the fictional grandfather, who says in the Pornhub-Verge promotional video that “when Pornhub starting accepting Verge, it was only a matter of time before everyone else caught on. The future had finally come.”
Verge, which is built on the Bitcoin (BTC) Blockchain, uses Tor and I2P networks to maintain its anonymity, the press release notes.
Justin Sunerok, the founder of Verge, said that the Pornhub partnership “represents an enormous market with a global reach that will compete with fiat currencies.” The press release notes that pornographic production company Brazzers and adult gaming portal Nataku will also begin accepting Verge for payments.
Beyond the promotional YouTube video, Pornhub notes that is will put on events in New York City and Silicon Valley with “renowned pornstar Asa Akira in an armored truck and Escalade fleet, as well as Bridgette B and Alix Lynx accompanied by an armada of luxury cars including a Lamborghini, Ferrari and Bentley.” The pornstars will promote the partnership by giving away Verge coins.
Cryptocurrency and Blockchain have been adopted before in the adult entertainment industry, which often values the anonymity of the crypto sector.
Last month, adult entertainment company Playboy announced that it would be launching its own online wallet that will allow viewers to pay for online content with cryptocurrency, including the Vice Industry (VIT) token. Meanwhile, at the end of last week, classified listings site Backpage’s CEO Carl Ferrer pleaded guilty to conspiracy and three counts of money-laundering, in part via cryptocurrencies.