Back in April, adult entertainment giant Pornhub broke the internet when it announced users can now buy a premium subscription with cryptocurrency. But despite all the buzz the announcement generated, it seems pornography viewers hardly share this enthusiasm for blockchain-powered payments.

In an email to Hard Fork, Pornhub revealed that cryptocurrencies currently account for “less than 1 percent of purchases made” on the platform.

While the company does not share what chunk of its users pay for the premium service, its website attracted a mind-blowing 28.5 billion visits last year.

Still, Pornhub remains optimistic about the future of the technology. “That being said, we expect to see widespread adoption of crypto[currency] and blockchain on our site in the near future,” a spokesperson added.

At present, Pornhub lets users purchase premium subscriptions with cryptocurrency. While the company initially introduced crypto-payments with Verge token, it has since expanded its suite of currencies with TRON, and ZenCash (which recently rebranded to Horizen after falling victim to attackers ).

The adult streamer also intends to implement Ethereum-based payment processor PumaPay in the near future. A Pornhub spokesperson could not provide a clear timeline for the implementation, but PumaPay insists the integration will go live in the first quarter of 2019.

Until then, you’ll have to settle for using Verge, ZenCash, or TRON.

While Pornhub says it seeks to offer payments in “cryptocurrencies that put user privacy and security at the forefront,” only ZenCash and Verge come with built-in anonymity. That said, both have dealt with technical difficulties, having to fend off 51 percent attacks earlier this year .

It’s not clear how the addition of TRON benefits the overall user experience. As far as PumaPay goes, Pornhub says it chose solution because of its “flexible billing capabilities,” which include “recurring payments and pay-per-use.”

We’ll have to wait until next year (when PumaPay finishes development) to see whether such features will come in handy to porn users. A PumaPay spokesperson told Hard Fork the company has onboarded over 60 “partners” (many of which in the porn industry) interested in implementing its payment solution.

As of August, only one of these partners had implemented PumaPay’s technology. Meanwhile, data suggests the company has lost $102 million in value since raising $117 million worth of Ethereum in an initial coin offering . Indeed, its market cap has shrunk to less than $14 million.

Whatever the case, one thing is for sure: Pornhub will need to interest a lot more people in using its cryptocurrency integrations if its planned Tube8 tokenization is to breed any success. Or we might be in for a whole new Playboy-tier fail .

If you’re interested in everything blockchain, chances are you’ll love Hard Fork Decentralized. Our blockchain and cryptocurrency event is coming up soon – join us to hear from experts about the industry’s future. Ticket sales are now open, check it out!

Finland’s new cryptocurrency regulation forces AML on industry

Cryptocurrency businesses in Finland will now have to register with the country’s financial watchdog.

As a result of the ACT OF VIRTUAL CURRENCY PROVIDERS, which comes into force on May 1, businesses will have to adhere with statutory requirements, including holding and protecting client money, segregating client money and own funds, and ensuring compliance with anti-money laundering regulation.

The Act is based on the European Union’s anti-money laundering legislation and seeks to bring virtual currency providers within the scope of anti-money laundering regulation, in line with the 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5th AMLD).

“Going forward, only virtual currency providers meeting statutory requirements are able to carry on their activities in Finland,” reads a statement issued by the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA). “Virtual currency providers which do not comply with statutory requirements will be prohibited from continuing their business activities, enforced by a conditional fine.”

In its statement, FIN-FSA went on to note that despite the incoming supervision and registration, “the characteristics of virtual currencies and the risks related to virtual currency investments remain unchanged.”

On a different note, authorities across the globe have struggled with the notion of regulating cryptocurrencies. In the UK, the Financial Conduct Authority launched a consultation on existing guidance around crypto-assets amid fears that businesses could be putting consumers at risk by offering unauthorized services.

More recently, the Swiss Federal Assembly approved a motion requesting the Federal Council regulate cryptocurrencies.

It’s not hard to see why governments are keen to regulate cryptocurrencies to protect citizens, but also to oversee and control what’s happening in the industry.

In this instance, FIN-FSA may be keen to offer an added layer of protection by holding companies accountable, but it goes without saying that it’s also up to each individual to do their own research and due diligence before parting with their cash and investing in cryptocurrency.

Did you know? Hard Fork has its own stage at TNW2019 , our tech conference in Amsterdam. Check it out .

Sim-swappers hack League of Legends star out of $200K worth of cryptocurrency

It’s not as easy as it sounds being a professional gamer. A League of Legends superstar has had $200,000 in cryptocurrency stolen from them – directly from their Coinbase account.

In a YouTube video spotted by Dot Esports , Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng describes how he awoke one morning last week to messages from his bank telling him he is overdrawn on his account.

While the exact details of the hack have not been officially confirmed, Peng does have his suspicions.

What happened?

Peng states that around a couple of weeks before the theft, he had experienced some abnormal cellphone coverage which he now believes to have been part of the scammer’s “genius plan.”

The League of Legends star believes that he was a victim of “sim swapping” – a fraudulent tactic attackers employ to dupe carrier employees into giving them access to the victim’s phone number.

Peng’s mobile provider confirmed the number had been reported as lost or stolen, and could have been transferred.

By obtaining access to Peng’s mobile phone number, the scammer could then gain access to his email and Coinbase accounts. As Coinbase uses mobile phone numbers as part of its two-factor authentication process (2FA), the scammer was not prevented from accessing Peng’s account when challenged.

The scam didn’t end here. The attacker then went on to employ an intricate system of email filters which prevented Peng from realizing the hack was taking place.

Emails that confirmed Coinbase transactions sent to Doublelift’s inbox were forwarded to a hidden email address – most likely belonging to the scammer. After this, emails were then deleted from Doublelift’s inbox. It happened so quickly Doublelift never saw any of the suspicious Coinbase activity.

The intricate – and clearly well-planned – heist is another in a string of scams that have seen unwitting victims conned out of their cryptocurrency. Last month, a Finnish millionaire lost $35 million in an illegitimate cryptocurrency investment.

While Doublelift isn’t setting any records for the highest value of assets stolen, it is certainly unnerving that scammers can covertly obtain such large sums. Doublelift remains confident he will get his lost funds back , so it might not all be bad news for the gamer.

Of course you should always use 2FA. But if you ever notice unusual activity on your mobile phone that you use for it, speak to your carrier to make sure your number hasn’t been compromised in a “sim swap” scam.