SpankPay, an online crypto payment service targeted at the adult industry, informed its customers and supporters today that it’s permanently shutting down services due to a hostile banking environment.

The company ran into troubles with service provider Wyre after that company switched payment processors to one that wasn’t willing to work with adult entertainment clients. Efforts to find a replacement for Wyre were not successful in time to keep SpankPay operational.

Here is their full statement on Twitter:

After a long and difficult consideration, we have decided to close down SpankPay, our crypto payment processor that we built as a safe haven for our community. Rest assured your money is safe and we’ll get it to you as soon as possible.

This was a targeted shutdown by Wyre because their new payment processor, checkout dot com, doesn’t work with adult businesses. This came as a shock, seeing as our relationship with Wyre had been supportive and respectful up until this point.

Other service providers that we explored also rejected us due to being in the adult industry. Operating SpankPay in a hostile banking environment has always been challenging, but the escalating attacks have become untenable for our small team and the niche market we serve.

We encourage users to create crypto wallets and explore personal financial sovereignty. We’ll continue to develop and invest in products that advance the adult industry. We’re refocusing on http://spankmatch.com, our adult directory service, with more announcements to come.

We’ll continue our advocacy work with the Free Speech Coalition, challenging the status quo of banks discriminating against adult performers and businesses by engaging lobbyists and meeting with policymakers in Congress.

With SpankPay being discriminated against due to the nature of our business, we’re as motivated as ever to end these extra-legal censorship practices enforced by financial institutions. Thank you for being part of our community. The fight goes on.

Several followers expressed regret that the service was shutting down.

This is so sad 💔 but thank you for being there for us when nobody else was 🌸

— Avalon 🎀 (@xFaeryPrincessx) March 20, 2023

Thank you for helping the SW community . It’s a sad day but your help and support was priceless. Looking forward to support your next project .

— 𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐄 𝔼𝕏𝔸 • ꜰᴇᴍᴅᴏᴍ ᴍᴀᴇꜱᴛʀᴀ (@VenerateElleExa) March 20, 2023

Im so sorry. You guys have been amazing and thank you for working so hard for us. I wish you the best

— Emma Cassel 🇫🇷 in Vancouver (@emma_cassel) March 20, 2023

For those SpankPay users with active accounts, please watch for email from the company with instructions on what to do next.