Playboy Enterprises, the “American men’s lifestyle and entertainment” company, most known for its adult material, has announced it will start taking cryptocurrencies in exchange for its products.
Playboy Develops Online Payment Wallet
The adult entertainment company founded by the late Hugh Heffner is developing an online payment wallet, which people can use to pay for its online content and games.
Available by the end of 2018, the decision to accept cryptocurrency payments latest attempt to adjust to the changing online landscape, where adult content is mostly free and in high supply.
Reena Patel, Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Operations at Playboy Enterprises, stated that the decision follows the cryptocurrency hype worldwide;
“As the popularity of alternative payment methods continues to grow around the world, along with the reach of Playboy’s digital platforms, we felt it was important to give our 100 million monthly consumers increased payment flexibility. This innovation gives the millions of people who enjoy our content, as well as those in the future who participate in our casual gaming, AR and VR platforms, more choices with regard to payment and in the case of VIT, an opportunity to be rewarded for engaging with Playboy offerings”
Scott Flanders, Chief Executive Officer of the company in 2015, was very aware of the fundamental change in the porn industry and decided to stop publishing naked photographs in its print magazine. A decision that was ultimately reversed in 2017. “You’re now one click away from every sex act imaginable for free”, he told the New York Times.
The online payment wallet will accept a wide number of cryptocurrencies. Among them is the Vice Industry Token (VIT), a decentralized blockchain platform that monetizes adult videos while rewarding viewers for watching them. VIT wants to be the alternative to ad-supported porn websites that allow viewers to watch porn for free.
By integrating with VIT, visitors will be able to pay and earn tokens to view Playboy TV’s original content, as well as comment on and vote for content. The company also has plans to integrate cryptocurrency to its casual gaming, AR and VR initiatives in the future.
The Vice Industry Token argues:
“The original paradigm in mainstream and adult entertainment was that people paid for the content they consumed; whether by subscription or pay-per-view. With “tube” websites becoming popular, there was a shift toward free-viewing. While free content was certainly desirable, wouldn’t it be better if you could get paid for it, too?”
VIT has raised 24074.91 ETH so far.
In January, NewsBTC has reported the launch of Eroiy, a payment method for the adult entertainment industry based on the NEM protocol.