A Girls Gone Bitcoin user verifying her online identity. Picture: Reddit Source: Supplied
BITCOIN is the currency for the seedy side of the internet.
Transactions are often faceless and always without a trace.
A stash of Bitcoins — the digital currency. Source: AFP
DON'T KNOW ABOUT BITCOINS? READ MORE HERE.
The digital currency favoured by users and dealers on the now-defunct drug website, Silk Road, has also been linked to Stripcoin websites which are becoming more popular on the web.
The sites appeal mainly to students who need to make quick cash. Users offer to strip for anyone who will cash up their digital wallet with Bitcoins.
Selling your body for Bitcoin
"StripCoin.com is an instructional site that teaches adult entertainers how to use Bitcoin. Your earnings and tips go directly from your patrons to you. There are no usage or transaction fees. It's just like accepting cash from someone, except over the internet," an introduction on the site, which was started in 2012, explains.
Stripcoin.com advises users how to get started. Source: Supplied
Bitcoin is the world's first decentralised currency which uses no banks and leaves no paper trail, making it a favourite among trolls, internet gangsters, and users of porn.
It recently hit a high of $US1000 in value - and some are attributing this sudden boom purely to the online sex industry.
Girls Gone Bitcoin is not as popular as the female version. Picture: Reddit Source: Supplied
As Bitcoins become mainstream, forums of sites such as Reddit are becoming the red light district of the online world.
Sub sections on Reddit such as /r/GirlsGoneBitcoin/ and /r/GuysGoneBitcoin make it increasingly simple to earn fast cash flashing your bits - and they are popping up at an alarming rate.
Girls Gone Bitcoin user wants verification. Picture: Reddit Source: Supplied
It is terrifyingly easy for people to start pimping themselves out to seedy guys on the net.
A user gets set up for online stripping by creating a Bitcoin wallet to stash the cash they earn and verify their identity by posting an anonymous photograph and a postcard - including their wallet's address, their username and the date of posting - on the relevant website.
After the user is verified by the moderators of the forum, clients can begin making personal requests of the stripper. The services are paid for directly into the digital wallet - with no need for PayPal or a bank.
Stripping for Bitcoins is becoming a popular way to earn the currency. Picture: Reddit. Source: Supplied
The Reddit versions of strip clubs were shut down earlier this year, after it was discovered they were being used as a front for online businesses.
Some users "create[ed] an agreement where [they] got a kickback for using [their] subreddit to drive traffic to a business or domain," moderator girlfawkesy said at the time.
This only gained more attention for the underbelly sites - increasing subscribers dramatically when they reappeared recently.
Girls Gone Bitcoin has reopened on Reddit. Source: Supplied
Last year Girls Gone Bitcoin had just 700 users, now that number has soared over 4000.
What makes these sites appealing to adult entertainers?
The anonymity is a big drawcard along with the absence of real-life bank account deposits.
One stripper, LadyVivienne, crops her head out of photos of her naked body or uses a Photoshop mask to disguise herself.
"It helps you feel less degraded. You don't know who it is viewing you," she told The Daily Dot.
Taking your clothes off for strangers for Bitcoin is a trend. Picture: Reddit Source: Supplied
The 22-year-old stay-at-home mum says she wants to make money any way she can and likes the thrill of posting anonymous photographs of herself online.
With the increase in value of Bitcoins, these sites may begin to find a permanent home.
It’s not just a female trend. Men are getting involved. Picture: Reddit. Source: Supplied
Professional strippers or webcam stars are setting up shop on the Girls Gone Bitcoin subreddit and baring all.
Jamie TT, a stripper who uses the website Adult Work to pay her bills, joined the site earlier this year and became one of the most popular posters.
"I can see the other girls on r/GirlsGoneBitcoin," she said. "They tend not to show all.
"I guess I'm in a different standard. This is my work. I'll bear all!" she told the Daily Dot.
With the increased value of Bitcoins, stripping online could one day make adult workers as much money as dancing naked in a Kings Cross club. All from the privacy of their own home.
