Panelists from sex technology industries will gather in virtual reality on April 23 to discuss the impact of safety in the sex industry when it comes to blockchain.

The notice posted to Eventbrite UK says the event will address the way blockchain technology impacts payments to sex workers, records consent between partners, and documents sexual harassment.

“By design, blockchain is “an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way”. How anonymous is our sex history on blockchain? Are we protected as we think we are?”

Featuring Alison Falk, President of Women of Sex Tech, the founder of Cyber Rabbit Imagination studio, a sex and intimacy coach, and a podcast host, the panel will be hosted on AltspaceVR on April 23 at 18:30 BST.

Sex scams targeting crypto holders

Cryptocurrencies have become a popular payment method in the adult entertainment industry due to their pseudo anonymity. Sex performers on webcams in particular rely on the immutability and censorship resistance of blockchain technology to maintain their privacy and have an income stream. However, cryptocurrency holders not affiliated the sex industry have been the targets of scammers and blackmailers for years.

With more people working from home and spending more time online, the FBI made an announcement warning against virtual asset scams earlier this month. One scam involves someone claiming to be infected with COVID-19 would pass on the disease to the victim unless a certain amount of Bitcoin (BTC) were sent to a provided address.

Similar attempts have been made by blackmailers attempting to expose victims doing different sexual acts which they claim to have obtained through malware on the other’s computer. Unless the victim can send a few thousand dollars’ worth of BTC, the photos or videos will be distributed online. The so-called “sexploitation” scam is just one of the topics that may be discussed in the April 23 panel.