Adult Website (Incorporating, crypto payments, user privacy)

[JamesFriday]

Hello,

My friend 🙂 has a great idea for a niche porntube. With high risk fiat payment processing being expensive, crypto will do just fine. Potential users will most likely want their use to be as private as possible anyways.

I summon all gurus to please help find the best place for incorporation, What would be the best jurisdiction if within EU only, and best jurisdiction if not confined within the EU's borders
- All shareholders would be from EU member countries.
- Moving and taking residency for substance is not a problem.
- Need to be cypto friendly, also with privacy coins.

From what i could gather, Cyprus seems like a great place especially with the 60 day non-dom option. However i see that Bulgaria and Hungary might also be teriffic candidates with low tax and possibly less compliance hassle.

My concern is mainly with compliance for AML and user data retention.
We want our user to feel safe that their privacy is protected and thus we want store little to no information about them. This includes IP address, no email option(username), and other privacy upholding features protecting the user in the event of a data breach.
This combined with crypto including monero as payment options might pose a compliance issue or extra scrutiny?

So for low tax and less strict compliance where should you incorporate?

 

[daniels27]

Do you also need banking?

 

[JamesFriday]

daniels27 said:
Do you also need banking?
Click to expand...

Yes, banking would be preferable for off ramping.

 

[ilke]

JamesFriday said:
From what i could gather, Cyprus seems like a great place especially with the 60 day non-dom option. However i see that Bulgaria and Hungary might also be teriffic candidates with low tax and possibly less compliance hassle.

My concern is mainly with compliance for AML and user data retention.
We want our user to feel safe that their privacy is protected and thus we want store little to no information about them. This includes IP address, no email option(username), and other privacy upholding features protecting the user in the event of a data breach.
This combined with crypto including monero as payment options might pose a compliance issue or extra scrutiny?
Click to expand...

Bulgaria definitely zero chance because the distribution (and production) of any pornographic materials is strictly illegal.

Cyprus theoretically possible and a good place to domicile to.

Hungary is a decent jurisdiction for business but very anti-LGBTQ and also has some restrictions for erotic content; therefore, I consider it too complicated for your needs.

Nevertheless, I think your anonymity issue will be the biggest. Practically all (but not all) countries require you to collect the name and address of the purchaser of the services. You are always reliant on your customers to provide correct information so this fact also opens some opportunities.

Monero off-ramp as a company is complex but if you just pay tax and keep it, it's probably fine.

 

[JamesFriday]

ilke said:
Bulgaria definitely zero chance because the distribution (and production) of any pornographic materials is strictly illegal.

Cyprus theoretically possible and a good place to domicile to.

Hungary is a decent jurisdiction for business but very anti-LGBTQ and also has some restrictions for erotic content; therefore, I consider it too complicated for your needs.

Nevertheless, I think your anonymity issue will be the biggest. Practically all (but not all) countries require you to collect the name and address of the purchaser of the services. You are always reliant on your customers to provide correct information so this fact also opens some opportunities.

Monero off-ramp as a company is complex but if you just pay tax and keep it, it's probably fine.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your valuable input,

Regarding anonymity, i was thinking along the lines of Mullvad which is incorporated in Sweden. No logs, no email, no information about the customer and XMR and Cash payment options encouraged. Only timestamp and some transaction details for accounting purposes.

Would you have any recommendation in regards to the crypto off-ramp?

 

[anotherone]

If I were you, i would not incorporate, i would build up the website and add crypto paywall and then see if it works. XMR aka monero is dead because all major regulated exchanges like binance delisted it. So, you can't conver it in Fiat and transfer it via SEPA.

In terms of crypto, You should consider SOLANA and ZCASH, Transactions are fast, its network has low transaction fees.

Solana Block Time & Transaction Processing Speed​

• Average Block Time: ~400 milliseconds (0.4 seconds) per block.
• Transactions Per Second (TPS): 50,000 - 65,000 TPS in optimal conditions.
• Finalization Time: Transactions can be confirmed in ~1-2 seconds.

For instance, the website facecheck.id uses solana as first choice.

I don't advise bitcoin as a method of payment. transactions are too slow for online payments and customers can face issues because it may take 45 minutes to get a confirmation of transaction.

In Bulgaria P**N is banned it is really a bad idea.

Many adult websites have their company based in cyprus.

About AML/Kyc,
Check the business model of facecheck.id, they do what you want to do, they don't collect email addresses, they ask to pay in crypto.

Last edited: Feb 15, 2025

 

[JamesFriday]

Woud

anotherone said:
If I were you, i would not incorporate, i would build up the website and add crypto paywall and then see if it works. XMR aka monero is dead because all major regulated exchanges like binance delisted it. So, you can't conver it in Fiat and transfer it via SEPA.

In terms of crypto, You should consider SOLANA and ZCASH, Transactions are fast, its network has low transaction fees.

Solana Block Time & Transaction Processing Speed​

• Average Block Time: ~400 milliseconds (0.4 seconds) per block.
• Transactions Per Second (TPS): 50,000 - 65,000 TPS in optimal conditions.
• Finalization Time: Transactions can be confirmed in ~1-2 seconds.

For instance, the website facecheck.id uses solana as first choice.

I don't advise bitcoin as a method of payment. transactions are too slow for online payments and customers can face issues because it may take 45 minutes to get a confirmation of transaction.

In Bulgaria P**N is banned it is really a bad idea.

Many adult websites have their company based in cyprus.

About AML/Kyc,
Check the business model of facecheck.id, they do what you want to do, they don't collect email addresses, they ask to pay in crypto.
Click to expand...

Thank you, i will take a closer look at Solana, and Zcash is definatley a good option. Main objective is to give the user an impression of high privacy, hence the XMR payment option.

Do you know the limitations when it comes to what exchanges one can use, if you were to be a legal registered company within Europe? For example could you engage in a P2P transaction for XMR to USD-C or BTC swap, which would then be sent to Binance for fiat convertion. Or would this require a license under current regulation? Would i potentially be locked to pay myself salary in XMR to handle the exchange personally?

 

[JamesFriday]

Maybe @CyprusLawyer101 , @CyprusLaw or @cyprus123 would have some valuable input here regarding incoporating in Cyprus and the data retention laws?

 

[Simon4466]

If you need actual banking maybe try NL or indeed Cyprus with something like yoursafe(?) they specialize in adult. Else paxum should be an option for most non EU domiciled companies (or just as an extra option).

 

[CyprusLawyer101]

JamesFriday said:
Maybe @CyprusLawyer101 , @CyprusLaw or @cyprus123 would have some valuable input here regarding incoporating in Cyprus and the data retention laws?
Click to expand...

As other members have mentioned, Cyprus cos are being used sucessfuly for this type of operation. Not sure about the anonymity thing. What would be your question exactly?

 

[JamesFriday]

CyprusLawyer101 said:
As other members have mentioned, Cyprus cos are being used sucessfuly for this type of operation. Not sure about the anonymity thing. What would be your question exactly?
Click to expand...

Sounds good, my exact question would be if there are any law or regulation in Cyprus requiring me to gather and if so, retain any information about my customers?
Thank you

 

[CyprusLawyer101]

JamesFriday said:
Sounds good, my exact question would be if there are any law or regulation in Cyprus requiring me to gather and if so, retain any information about my customers?
Thank you
Click to expand...

There shouldn't be any direct obligation by a law or regulation requiring the collection of customer's information. Most of the obligations that exist are for protecting the data collected ( see GDPR for example) . The only obligation that arises is for maintaining proper accounting and tax records whereby such personal data must be included on an invoice. You could though work around with it a bit and use only numbering of clients or their first name. Keeping a certain record serves also as a practical thing for your accounting. Also important to collect is their place of residence as this affects vat and tax implications - just to have clear records and evidence of your disclosed tax treatment. For example you could be creating a vat obligation in a jurisdiction you have a customer base, this should be identifiable. A final thing to check would be with your chosen payment processor company, that they don't have this data collection obligation within their internal policies as they might do so for fraud prevention etc.

 

[Simon4466]

Pretty sure you wont have to do that much work for invoices. Same as paying for something in a store, they will just let you pay with whatever (cash or card, sometimes even crypto) and you will never have to leave your details either. I dont know what would differ online (but maybe there is some regulation I am unaware of in Cyprus). Just maintain good records and books. You need to be able to show how much money you made for income tax / corp tax / VAT purposes but I have never heard of you needing to keep private client details for small payments. Only if you do B2B.

At least that is the case in the Netherlanss (country I recommended for this project). https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/...cturen_maken/wie_zijn_verplicht_te_factureren

No legal advice but that's how I read it (you can use google translate)

According to this site: https://spaceinvoices.com/countries/cyprus Cyprus seems to require it, but then again that is said by an invoice company lol

Long story short: maybe someone like CyprusLaw can help you out with this question as it seems pretty interesting.

 

[daniels27]

Simon4466 said:
At least that is the case in the Netherlanss (country I recommended for this project). https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/...cturen_maken/wie_zijn_verplicht_te_factureren

No legal advice but that's how I read it (you can use google translate)

According to this site: https://spaceinvoices.com/countries/cyprus Cyprus seems to require it, but then again that is said by an invoice company lol

Long story short: maybe someone like CyprusLaw can help you out with this question as it seems pretty interesting.
Click to expand...

No, many countries require you to remit VAT where the customer is located. This applies for EU, and many other places. Of course he won't be bothered in Australia, but for sure in the country of incorporation when he just claims that the customer was not from there.

 

[Simon4466]

Yes but that doesnt mean you need the customers details? Just ask for their country, no need for them to provide all their details I can imagine?

daniels27 said:
No, many countries require you to remit VAT where the customer is located. This applies for EU, and many other places. Of course he won't be bothered in Australia, but for sure in the country of incorporation when he just claims that the customer was not from there.
Click to expand...

 

[daniels27]

Simon4466 said:
Yes but that doesnt mean you need the customers details? Just ask for their country, no need for them to provide all their details I can imagine?
Click to expand...

For VAT determination:
Country (address), IP, payment method (for cards, etc.). All that counts, of course payment method is nonsense as EU advocates people to use banks in other countries to increase competition.

Leaves you with the IP address and you can then force the user to use the same country as "his" address. He will be smart enough to use another VPN.

For EU invoicing:
https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/taxation/vat/vat-businesses/invoicing_en
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02006L0112-20250101

Article 220
1. Every taxable person shall ensure that, in respect of the following, an invoice is issued, either by himself or by his customer or, in his name and on his behalf, by a third party:
(1) supplies of goods or services which he has made to another taxable person or to a non-taxable legal person;

Article 220a
1. Member States shall allow taxable persons to issue a simplified invoice in any of the following cases:
(a) where the amount of the invoice is not higher than EUR 100 or the equivalent in national currency;
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If you invoice less than 100 EUR, you can use simplified invoices and won't need name and address even if you are required to issue invoices.

Last edited: Feb 17, 2025

 

[diro]

cryptocloud and cruptomus may take on your business or setup your own crypto server as suggested lots of times here already.

 

[Reytonne]

JamesFriday said:
Thank you for your valuable input,

Regarding anonymity, i was thinking along the lines of Mullvad which is incorporated in Sweden. No logs, no email, no information about the customer and XMR and Cash payment options encouraged. Only timestamp and some transaction details for accounting purposes.

Would you have any recommendation in regards to the crypto off-ramp?
Click to expand...

I don't think you need to establish a company. You can manage an adult content business without one. I had also considered Cyprus for the company, but thanks to the people on the forum, I learned that Cyprus is not fully compliant with the adult industry.

Last edited: Apr 27, 2025

 

[jayM]

The good thing about Cyprus is that they have tons of laws, but they don't really enforce them, or at least they don't really follow up when it comes to companies based in Cyprus and their activities. That's why Cyprus is a first-choice destination for the adult business.