Patreon, the membership platform, is considering allowing creators on its platform to create their own creator coins. Patreon CEO and co-founder Jack Conte and Chief Product Officer Julian Gutman made the surprising statement at The Information’s 2021 Creator Economy Summit. This is consistent with a report released in September that examined the use of cryptocurrency as part of the platform.

Patreon Makes a Move Towards Cryptocurrency

According to CEO Jack Conte and Chief Product Officer Julian Gutman, Patreon, the well-known membership organization, is now considering introducing crypto elements to add new revenue paths. Both directives admitted during The Information’s 2021 Creator Economy Summit that the idea of introducing a membership token for content creators is on the table.

While Patreon has explicitly prohibited the introduction of coins as a form of investment on its platform, the rise in cryptocurrency, along with other circumstances that the platform is facing, may force it to change these rules in the near future. Gutman said about this:

I think we’re certainly interested in evaluating and understanding how NFTs or some of the underlying technologies help us create that sustainable long-term earnings for creators.

Conte also lauded the cryptography’s permissionless and direct characteristics. This allows creators to own their products and the data collected from their followers without having to rely on a middleman, which, oddly enough, Patreon is. “I think that’s what a lot of this technology is getting at, and what I think is really deeply exciting about it,” he said.

A Cryptocurrency Alternative

Patreon has previously had issues with some content creators, prompting them to consider crypto-based services as an alternative. Patreon de-platformed some creators, including “Sargon of Akkad” aka Carl Benjamin, in December 2018, leaving him without income from the subscribers who followed him.

This prompted Jordan Peterson, another Patreon influencer, to close his account and launch a new alternative service with more lax content moderation rules. However, the inclusion of cryptocurrency in a periodic membership service has previously been attempted, but with limited success.

In an ironic twist, Patreon could be the platform for implementing cryptocurrency in response to Mastercard’s new adult policies. The platform hinted at this in its most recent policy engagement update, declaring:

One opportunity creators have expressed interest in is developing a creator coin or social token which could be included as a membership benefit.