While getting compensated for watching adult content might seem like a distant dream, the Vice Industry Token (VIT) is trying to turn that vision into a concrete reality. This ERC-20 based digital asset, which recently garnered support from adult film actress Stormy Daniels, aims to revolutionize the financial landscape of the adult entertainment sector through its groundbreaking approach. Built upon a blockchain fork originating from Steem, a platform which similarly rewards content creators, VIT has also seen adoption by companies such as Playboy Enterprises Inc., who are using the technology for their online digital wallets. The token sale for VIT has now concluded. (You might also be interested in: Playboy Launches Its Own Cryptocurrency Wallet.)
The Dangers of Devaluation
As explained within the VIT whitepaper, revenue derived from paid subscriptions represents a relatively small portion of total earnings within the adult entertainment industry. The majority of profits are secured through web traffic (generated through search engines like Google and associated websites) and online advertisements. Advertising rates are dependent upon consumer interaction, which is calculated through various metrics, including the duration of content viewed and the number of clicks on a specific site or video. The income distribution is predominantly shaped by the distinctive traits of the Internet’s ad-centric model, which favors free content over paid subscriptions.
However, this model isn’t particularly successful or financially rewarding for all parties. The abundance of freely accessible content has resulted in a surge of websites and a destructive devaluation in the quality of content and the price of online advertising. As stated within the VIT white paper, content creators and partnered websites/programs only receive around 24% of the total revenue generated. The white paper further states, “Advertisers secure minimal earnings from the overall revenue in the adult industry, content producers make even less, and viewers do not earn anything at all.” The creation of the VIT token is an attempt to address these inequities.
How Does the VIT Digital Currency Function?
Here’s how the VIT system operates: Every participant within the adult industry’s value chain uses VIT tokens to interact with the content. Viewers are rewarded with VIT tokens for watching and engaging with adult videos. The creators of VIT argue that these tokens offer an improvement over traditional engagement metrics, since they record data from other sources, such as social media interactions, viewer comments, and “likes”. Instead of depending on third-party data, adult content creators can use token data to learn more about viewer preferences and adapt future content accordingly. The direct communication between content creator and viewer through blockchain technology will facilitate a continuous feedback loop, which will benefit the entire adult film community. It will also offer content producers an additional revenue stream, as they can sell the viewer engagement data to interested third parties, like advertisers.
Investing in virtual currencies and Initial Coin Offerings (“ICOs”) presents significant risks and is considered highly speculative. This article should not be interpreted as financial advice from Investopedia or the author to invest in cryptocurrencies or ICOs. Every individual’s circumstances are unique, and consultation with a qualified financial expert is always recommended before making any financial decisions. Investopedia disclaims any representations or guarantees related to the accuracy or timeliness of the information presented within this article. As of the date of publication, the author holds a small amount of bitcoin.