Pornhub phases out USDT and adopts USDC as preferred stablecoin

Pornhub is moving away from Tether (USDT) and adopting USD Coin (USDC) for creator and model payments, as shared by Gracie Hartie, a Singapore-based social media influencer and OnlyFans creator, in a statement.

The switch gives content creators until June 1 to update their payment details or risk disruption to their earnings, according to Hartie’s screenshot.

Pornhub said its shift to USDC is driven by the token’s full reserve backing and its compliance with the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework, also known as MiCA.

Circle met the MiCA stablecoin deadline by securing an Electronic Money Institution license from the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution in July 2024.

The achievement, arriving months before full enforcement, established USDC as the first global stablecoin cleared for seamless operation across the EU, helping it avoid the delistings and legal challenges faced by non-compliant alternatives.

Pornhub’s Content Partner Program and Model Program pages now list USDC and Verge as supported crypto payout options.

It is unclear whether USDT will be discontinued for Premium members. At press time, Pornhub continues to accept USDT on Ethereum and Tron, as well as multiple other coins.

How payment blockades pushed Pornhub into stablecoin adoption

Pornhub first approached crypto as an experiment. In 2018, it added Verge for Premium subscriptions, followed later that year by PumaPay to support recurring billing, though adoption remained limited and largely experimental through 2019. At this stage, crypto mainly served niche privacy-focused users.

After PayPal ended payouts to creators in late 2019, the platform adopted USDT to provide stable, dollar-pegged payments that avoided traditional banking restrictions.

The pressure escalated in December 2020 when Visa and Mastercard suspended processing, forcing parts of Pornhub’s Premium ecosystem to rely more heavily on crypto-based payments.

Since 2021, Pornhub has broadened its crypto offerings with the integration of major assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and USDC.