Crypto payment platform SpankPay shuts down operations after parting ways with its main partner, payment infrastructure company Wyre. Officially Twitter handleThe team behind the platform stated that Wyre pulled out of the partnership on purpose.
As always, sex workers in the United States face discrimination from banking institutions. In this case, SpankPay claims that their payment processor, Checkout dot com refuses to work with the mature business industry.
SpankPay is part of the SpankChain ecosystem, a suite of blockchain-based solutions for sex workers. Crypto payment platforms offer mature entertainers an alternative to receiving money with digital assets while providing a way to convert them into fiat currency. The team behind the project said:
After long and difficult consideration, we have decided to close SpankPay, a crypto payment processor built as a refuge for our community. Guaranteed your money is safe and will be sent to you as soon as possible. (…) This came as a surprise, as our relationship with Wyre has been supportive and respectful up until now.
A Crypto Solution For Sex Workers?
On January 6, 2023, the crypto payment platform will end “infinite” fiat payments. At this time, the project was forced to pause the transaction because the future of crypto affected Wyre; the company wound down to stay afloat.
Transactions continued, but the company again ceased operations because Wyre “targeted” and closed SpankChain product accounts. A difficult relationship came to an abrupt end in today’s announcement.
According to Vice’s report, the SpankChain product tweeted the following in February, when Wyre decided to remove the payment rail:
SpankPay’s operations in a hostile banking environment are certainly challenging, but the growing assaults are unbearable for the small team and the niche markets they serve.
For many in the adult entertainment industry, crypto is the only option for receiving payments. Allie Eve Knox, a sex worker and counselor at SpankPay, allegedly started every major payment platform in the US, including PayPal, Square, CashApp, Venmo, and others.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are the only way people like Knox can pay their bills. Sex workers told Vice:
We just have to keep going. And you know, that’s a common song and a whore’s dance. ‘Okay, we screwed up yesterday, we wake up tomorrow, and fix it.