The “stripper index” — an anecdotal measurement that connects financial well being with spending on grownup leisure — seems unable to foretell Bitcoin’s (BTC) worth.
Kodi Rose, a self-described “greenback stripper” and grownup content material creator, alluded to those frontline insights in a latest viral TikTok video, saying she believes the economic system is already in a recession as fewer clients are asking the place they’ll “hit the slopes,” a social code for cocaine.
The digital equal of unique dancers is grownup content material creators, and OnlyFans dominates the area. On the platform, customers subscribe to creators and tip for extras.
Seems the stripper index doesn’t actually work for Bitcoin. A 57-month income evaluation of 1 mid-tier OnlyFans creator exhibits a detrimental correlation with Bitcoin’s worth, regardless of the 2 transferring in the identical route greater than half the time.
To grasp whether or not creators’ earnings holds any predictive worth for Bitcoin, Cointelegraph spoke to veterans within the grownup leisure business who’ve weathered each its ups and downs alongside crypto’s hype cycles.
Bitcoin adopted OnlyFans mannequin’s earnings 55% of the time
The stripper index is backed by the idea that customers will reduce down on non-essential spending throughout financial downturns.
“Intercourse work is taken into account a ‘non-essential’ service — it’s leisure, a luxurious. Due to this fact, it’s one of many first bills individuals reduce when their monetary state of affairs turns into unsure or they anticipate financial instability,” Catherine De Noire, an OnlyFans creator and brothel supervisor, advised Cointelegraph.
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Alana Nguyen, who performs on OnlyFans below the stage title “Nerdy Dancing,” shared her month-to-month earnings with Cointelegraph since transferring on-line after the 2020 pandemic shut down of the bodily world, together with strip golf equipment. To date, she hasn’t observed any clear correlation between crypto costs and subscriber conduct.
“Even when there are world financial circumstances affecting total spending, I don’t assume crypto costs correlate strongly with my earnings,” Nguyen advised Cointelegraph.
A Pearson correlation coefficient of -0.335 over 57 months suggests a reasonably detrimental linear relationship between Nguyen’s earnings and Bitcoin’s worth.
A ten-month rolling Pearson correlation between Nguyen’s earnings and Bitcoin’s worth confirmed appreciable volatility over time. The best correlation was noticed within the 10-month interval ending July 2021, which have been the primary months of Nguyen’s enterprise.
Out of 48 complete calculations, the rolling correlation coefficient was evenly cut up, with 24 optimistic and 24 detrimental values, suggesting the connection between Nguyen’s earnings and Bitcoin’s worth fluctuated and not using a constant sample. The rolling correlation hardly ever went above 0.5 or under -0.5, indicating low correlation.
In a separate measurement, Cointelegraph analyzed whether or not or not Nguyen’s earnings rose when Bitcoin’s month-to-month common rose in comparison with the earlier month and when her income dropped as Bitcoin dropped. On this measurement, the 2 moved towards the identical route virtually half the time, with 55% accuracy over 57 months.
“I’ve at all times thought ideas just like the stripper index are solely helpful by way of mixture spending. Even within the strip membership, my earnings aren’t essentially tied to how the membership is doing total. It’s extra about my private promoting means that day — whether or not regulars are available or I get fortunate with an enormous spender,” Nguyen mentioned.
OnlyFans is infamous for opaque monetary reporting. One web site, OnlyGuider, claims to have analyzed the transaction conduct of over 1 million subscribers and located that the highest 0.1% of creators earn nearly all of the platform’s income.
In line with information from OnlyGuider shared with Cointelegraph, the highest 0.1% of creators earned $2,035,331 in April 2025, when Bitcoin’s common worth was $94,207. As Bitcoin costs continued to rise in Could and June, earnings for the highest 0.1% additionally elevated, reaching $2,038,972 in Could and $2,052,502 in June.
Bitcoin’s relationship with OnlyFans and grownup leisure
Crypto was as soon as seen as a substitute device for facilitating funds to grownup content material creators. Pornhub, one of many business’s largest platforms, started accepting cryptocurrency as early as 2018. OnlyFans, nevertheless, has taken a distinct path and doesn’t provide crypto as a cost technique.
“Crypto funds will not be extremely popular in our brothel. Most shoppers favor money as a result of it leaves no hint. Solely a really small variety of the ladies working with us settle for crypto funds, and even then, the full variety of transactions per 12 months is extraordinarily low,” De Noire mentioned.
“We haven’t observed any vital change in spending conduct that corresponds with crypto fluctuations. Whether or not Bitcoin or Ethereum is performing nicely or not doesn’t appear to have a direct impact on how a lot our shoppers are keen to spend,” she added.
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Erotic movie star Allie Eve Knox has stronger ties to the crypto neighborhood as an advocate for integrating cryptocurrency into the grownup business and thru her involvement with SpankChain, which launched initiatives like SpankPay, a crypto cost choice for grownup creators that has since been discontinued.
Knox, who provides her content material on a number of platforms, together with OnlyFans, agreed that the value of Bitcoin doesn’t seem to have a significant affect on her earnings.
“Anytime crypto hits an all-time excessive, our site visitors really slows,” Knox advised Cointelegraph.
“Individuals need to see the largest quantity of their account and screenshot it. It’s not typical for them to go passing out cash to get their wanks.”
Knox has been within the grownup leisure business for 11 years and says she’s skilled 36 account closures over her profession — from financial institution accounts to Money App and PayPal. Crypto supplied another option to settle for funds, however satirically, she claims she was de-banked even by crypto platforms.
“I confirmed a Showtime documentary crew how I might show my Coinbase QR code on digicam, and viewers might pay me in Bitcoin or Ether. The day after it aired, Coinbase shut my account down.”
Trendy cost choices — whether or not crypto or digital banking — make transactions simpler for each shoppers and companies. Nevertheless, digital strategies nonetheless draw scrutiny from banks when utilized by intercourse employees. In brothels, shoppers usually favor money, generally even leaving mid-session to withdraw cash from an ATM, De Noire mentioned.
“As an OnlyFans creator, nevertheless, I discover one thing a bit of bit comparable. My subscribers typically haven’t any problem utilizing bank cards and belief the platform. But a lot of them nonetheless ask if they’ll pay through Bitcoin or different different strategies,” she mentioned.
“Since OF doesn’t enable funds outdoors the platform, I haven’t pursued this additional, but it surely’s clear that even on-line shoppers are in search of extra privateness and management over the info they share with monetary establishments.”
Bitcoin’s honeymoon with OnlyFans fashions has handed
Web3 and grownup content material had their “good previous days,” in accordance with Knox, who says the non-fungible token (NFT) growth of 2021 opened up new earnings streams and gave creators extra choices to achieve followers and spend their crypto earnings.
“Now, if a buyer doesn’t already maintain crypto, they’ve to maneuver cash from their financial institution, look forward to it to clear right into a pockets, perhaps convert it, ship it to a mannequin, look forward to affirmation and solely then do they get the content material,” she mentioned.
Creators are additionally dealing with increasing barriers worldwide. Lately, China launched a nationwide crackdown on OnlyFans, whereas Sweden, a nation that’s politically and culturally very completely different from China, has imposed restrictions on buying grownup content material.
De Noire cited sociologist Zygmunt Bauman to level out that in at the moment’s society, shoppers aren’t simply making an attempt to outlive, however they prioritize enjoyment.
“If you see a variety of non-essential providers like massages, fancy espresso, wellness retreats and even intercourse work getting used usually, it’s an indication that the society has sufficient cash going round,” De Noire mentioned.
Whereas cryptocurrency was as soon as hailed as a promising cost resolution for grownup content material creators dealing with monetary censorship, the fact is extra advanced. Regardless of pockets of overlap, resembling simultaneous rises in Bitcoin costs and earnings amongst prime OnlyFans creators, grownup entertainers and their earnings have proven little correlation with Bitcoin’s worth tendencies.
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