The verification course of on grownup platforms may be extra cumbersome than Know Your Buyer (KYC) checks on cryptocurrency exchanges — although added problem doesn’t essentially replicate stronger compliance.
Signing up as a mannequin on OnlyFans or Pornhub isn’t all that completely different from opening an account on a crypto buying and selling platform. The method typically begins with a Google login (or different on-line accounts, relying on the trade), adopted by the acquainted ritual of selfies and ID uploads.
Each grownup platforms and crypto exchanges are beneath mounting scrutiny over how they confirm customers — one to forestall minors from promoting express content material, the opposite to cease criminals from laundering cash.
To check how these methods work in observe, Cointelegraph tried to go identification checks on each varieties of platforms. The outcomes present that grownup websites typically frustrate creators with repeated rejections and arbitrary hurdles, whereas crypto exchanges impose extra structured checks tied to monetary regulation.
KYC in crypto vs. OnlyFans and Pornhub
On OnlyFans, verification went past a typical ID and selfie to incorporate an handle, a number of resubmissions and social media handles. The appliance was denied after the platform claimed the profile picture and selfie didn’t meet its requirements, regardless that they adopted the acknowledged circumstances. OnlyFans later mentioned the supplied social media hyperlinks had been invalid regardless that they had been professional.
Cointelegraph refiled the main points, however the software was rejected once more. When approached for remark, OnlyFans’ media crew didn’t handle particular questions. As an alternative, they referred to the transparency middle, which states that the platform invests closely in know-how and moderation groups.
Cointelegraph’s software rejection isn’t a novel case. OnlyFans creator profiles have a low acceptance fee. In July, the platform acquired 184,844 creator purposes, of which solely 35% had been authorised.
Pornhub additionally rejected Cointelegraph’s software, citing solely “different” as the explanation. A second try utilizing a passport was later authorised, coincidentally after a media inquiry. Pornhub didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Joshua Chu, an asset restoration lawyer and co-chair of the Hong Kong Web3 Affiliation, additionally independently performed these assessments. His OnlyFans creator software was equally rejected.
“I appeared into becoming a member of as a performer, solely to seek out the verification course of considerably extra rigorous than anticipated,” Chu advised Cointelegraph. “I finally didn’t succeed.”
“Throughout the identical interval, I’ve opened and verified a number of crypto trade accounts, together with ones not even formally presupposed to be working in Hong Kong, and buying and selling there proved much less difficult,” he added.
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Crypto exchanges Coinbase, Bybit and Bitget centered their checks on monetary documentation, supply of funds and proof of handle. Cointelegraph tried to go KYC on every of those platforms to measure how their processes in contrast.
On Coinbase, registration started with a Google login and SMS verification, adopted by questions on employment and the anticipated supply of funds. The trade required proof of handle by means of paperwork similar to a financial institution assertion or utility invoice. The check was performed on Sept. 1, and a financial institution assertion with minimal transactions submitted by Cointelegraph was rejected a number of instances. The appliance was locked for twenty-four hours. Cointelegraph returned to the appliance after the time expired, and a July financial institution assertion was accepted and authorised. A small 6-euro deposit was made to Coinbase through its banking companion, Estonia-based LHV Pank, to check the on-ramp.
Bybit redirected European Union customers to its licensed subsidiary, the place verification was accomplished by means of commonplace ID checks. A video of a tilted passport needed to be taken to show its hologram. The method was accomplished inside minutes.
Bitget supplied the quickest approval: A easy ID add and selfie unlocked crypto transfers in about 10 minutes. Extra verification was wanted to commerce crypto in opposition to fiat, requiring telephone and e-mail codes and a linked financial institution card.
Coinbase and Bybit didn’t reply to Cointelegraph’s request to touch upon the story.
Bitget, when requested how the platform’s KYC verification happens virtually immediately, responded by saying it depends on its eKYC service suppliers and its evaluation crew.
“Grownup content material platforms, however, typically depend on extra conservative, typically guide or third-party age checks — suppose uploaded scans, liveness assessments or bank card checks,” Hon Ng, Bitget’s chief authorized officer, advised Cointelegraph.
“It’s not that grownup websites are deliberately extra rigorous; typically, it’s that the necessities themselves are murkier,” Ng mentioned.
“For crypto exchanges, KYC is a well-charted, globally acquainted course of; for age verification in grownup content material, the foundations are newer, interpreted in another way throughout jurisdictions and tangled in privateness debates.”
How OnlyFans and crypto ended up with stricter verifications
Id checks weren’t all the time strict in both grownup platforms or cryptocurrency exchanges. Each industries tightened their processes solely after scandals and regulatory stress made the established order unsustainable.
Pornhub was pressured to overtake its system in 2020 after a New York Occasions opinion article revealed underage and non-consensual movies on the location. Visa and Mastercard rapidly suspended cost providers, whereas the platform deleted tens of millions of unverified uploads and required all content material creators to go authorities ID verification.
OnlyFans confronted comparable scrutiny in 2021 because the platform exploded in reputation through the pandemic. A BBC Information investigation discovered that minors had been promoting and showing in express movies on the platform. The BBC discovered instances of minors utilizing faux IDs and social media profiles of relations to bypass the platform’s restrictions.
In March 2025, UK communications watchdog Ofcom fined OnlyFans’ dad or mum firm, Fenix Worldwide, 1.05 million British kilos (about $1.4 million) for offering inaccurate details about its age-verification system. The regulator mentioned it had twice requested particulars in 2022 and 2023 in regards to the platform’s “facial age estimation” instrument, which was supposed to dam minors.
Crypto exchanges adopted a parallel however separate path. For years, platforms similar to BitMEX and Binance allowed customers to commerce with little or no verification, drawing the ire of monetary regulators.
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BitMEX first settled with US regulators in 2021, agreeing to pay $100 million as a result of Anti-Cash Laundering (AML) and registration failures. In 2024, the trade pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act, and in January 2025, a federal decide imposed another $100-million criminal fine along with probation. KuCoin was a more moderen instance, pleading responsible in 2025 to working as an unlicensed cash transmitter and agreeing to pay nearly $300 million in penalties for non-compulsory and inconsistent KYC.
OnlyFans, Pornhub and crypto realized the onerous method
In each industries, identification checks solely grew to become stricter after a scandal and enforcement made inaction not possible.
Pornhub and OnlyFans toughened their requirements after revelations of underage customers and baby safety failures. Crypto exchanges did so solely after regulators imposed heavy fines and felony expenses for weak AML safeguards.
From 2021, the Monetary Motion Process Power up to date its international steering to apply AML standards to crypto, that means exchanges needed to undertake KYC guidelines just like banks.
“KYC is essential for figuring out and pursuing dangerous actors; it’s actually the inspiration of efficient asset restoration work. Nonetheless, in observe, I’ve noticed that some exchanges have gaps of their KYC knowledge or fail to correctly confirm key paperwork like handle proofs,” Chu mentioned.
“With the rise of AI-generated fakes, these weaknesses have turn out to be extra pronounced. Though there are enhancements, crypto KYC requirements nonetheless lag behind conventional finance in integrity and thoroughness.”
Immediately, onboarding as a creator on an grownup website can contain extra hoops than opening an account on a crypto trade, however that doesn’t imply their methods are safer or correct. OnlyFans has not expanded on why Cointelegraph’s software was rejected regardless of the submission of correct documentation and social profiles.
Each sectors finally share the identical trajectory: Programs tightened solely after crises uncovered their weaknesses, and in the present day’s stricter checks are the product of these classes realized the onerous method.
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