The idea of an onchain OnlyFans? Stunning. Seamless monetization, smart contracts, community ownership, what’s not to love? I genuinely thought this is where the adult creator economy could finally thrive without middlemen, censorship, or stigma.
Fast forward six years
The tech is still exciting. The potential is there. But the community? Meh
Don't clutch your cold wallet in horror!!! I’m not saying every person in crypto is problematic. But I am saying that the cultural vibe around sex, women, and online intimacy in Web3 spaces isn’t exactly what I’d call “evolved.”
Let's be real: a lot of the guys in this space (especially the vocal ones) aren't giving safe, respectful, or remotely creator-friendly energy. They’re giving Reddit mod who found DeFi Twitter. That wouldn’t be such a problem if it wasn’t the same copy-pasted character over and over again, crowding out anyone trying to build something genuinely innovative for adult creators.
There’s this odd cognitive dissonance I’ve observed. These guys will cheer on decentralization and “freedom of expression” in theory, but completely fold when that expression looks like women owning their sexuality, making bank, or building platforms that center female autonomy. Suddenly it’s “but what about the brand image?” or “is this too NSFW for Web3?”—from the same people who are deep-liking soft porn on their burner accounts.
Do the math.
There’s also a real cultural lineage between crypto and 4chan that we can’t ignore. I don’t say that to be edgy. I say it because it matters. The roots of this space ~tech-libertarian, male-dominated, pseudo-anonymous~ have created an ecosystem that sometimes feels like a digital man cave with a trust fund. Great for yield farming. Not so great for nuanced conversations around consent, sex work, or digital intimacy.
I'm not referring to the obvious ones that are in your face. I'm talking about the ones who soft launch their political views by advocating for lower taxes, the tradwife gals, etc. Offline, some of these men (and women) often end up in the same circles as incels and red pill creators. You’d be shocked (or not) how many “thought leaders” in this space have slid into DMs with the energy of someone who’s two tabs away from OnlyFans—while publicly tweeting about “building for the culture.”
So, is Web3 ready for an onchain adult platform? Technically, yeah. Culturally? not yet.
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A Global Pandemic and social distancing is what gave crypto legs, and it was through /r/wallstreetbets and KOLs like Gary Vee that struck while the iron was hot. What you are describing is a niche within a niche with many estimated stereotypes… confirmation bias and status quo bias lie within your words. In regard to, crypto being “male-dominated” does a space having more men than women equal male-domination? This type of language invites liberal reactionaries. Under that same pretense the women’s WNBA should go on strike as the NBA is male dominated and they earn more money! As for onlyfans, there is no benefit to being onchain. We’ve seen it with Playboy NFTs in 2021. And quite the opposite, gays, artists, and women were all digital pimped as chess pieces and all of it did nothing for the brand. I empathize with how you feel, but overall I feel some stances are regurgitated rhetoric found in women’s groupthink which I think, has only been used as marketing fuel. Good communities have always denounced cyber-harassment and created safe environments. You want safe environments, you don’t want to save the nerds. Or want to befriend them.