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SpankPay, a cryptocurrency payment service by Ethereum-based adult entertainment platform SpackChain, has closed down after crypto payment provider Wyre terminated the service agreement.
The platform also said it has continually faced discrimination from traditional financial institutions.
SpankPay Closes Down After Wyre Termination
In a tweet thread on Monday, SpankPay shared an email sent by Wyre on Feb. 9, 2023, informing SpankChain co-founder and CEO Ameen Soleimani of its intention to terminate the agreement between both parties. According to SpankChain, Wyre’s action came as a shock, considering that the platform’s relationship with the payment provider has been “supportive and respectful.”
After a long and difficult consideration, we have decided to close down SpankPay, our crypto payment processor that we built as a safe haven for our community. Rest assured your money is safe and we’ll get it to you as soon as possible.
— SpankPay (@SpankPay) March 20, 2023
SpankPay also claimed that the “termination was a targeted shutdown by Wyre because their new payment processor, checkout dot com, doesn’t work with adult businesses.”
While SpankPay said that users’ funds are safe, efforts to find new service providers have been met with roadblocks, as no one seems to want to provide financial services to companies that run an adult entertainment business.
“Operating SpankPay in a hostile banking environment has always been challenging, but the escalating attacks have become untenable for our small team and the niche market we serve.”
Major adult website Pornhub faced a similar situation with traditional financial services, with PayPal stopping support for payout to performers in 2019. Mastercard and Visa later blocked the use of their credit cards for transactions on the adult website in 2020 after a report by the New York Times alleged that the site showed child abuse, rape, and revenge pornography.
Shortly after Mastercard and Visa halted support for Pornhub, the adult website said it would accept bitcoin and other crypto assets for the platform’s premium service.
Fighting Discrimination Against Adult Performers
Meanwhile, SpankPay said it will continue to challenge the discrimination by banks against the adult industry “by engaging lobbyists and meeting with policymakers in Congress.”
“With SpankPay being discriminated against due to the nature of our business, we’re as motivated as ever to end these extra-legal censorship practices enforced by financial institutions. Thank you for being part of our community. The fight goes on.”
SpanChain launched SpankPay in 2019 as a crypto payment processor that offered seamless and cheaper transactions for adult content consumers. The platform enabled users to make purchases and instant transactions using cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, ZEC, LTC, and XMR.