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New Year, same Spank. Well, there have been quite a few changes over the last few months, but in the words of the great Elton John, we’re “still standing.” Not only that, we entered 2026 steaming hot and have lots to share. Here’s the 411:
The New Year doesn’t officially start until AVN kicks things off on the right foot. We got the chance to swing by and met up with old friends, made a few new ones and took tons of sexy snaps.
XBIZ was a blast as per usual, but one major moment deserves special attention. Our very own Allie Eve Knox took home the FSC advocacy award for her incredible efforts spreading education, gaining traction with regulators, and making waves on Capitol Hill. The team made the rounds, attending a ton of workshops, and we also sponsored a party for our brothers and sisters in advocacy over at the FSC.
Spank officially launched SpankBytes, a collection of easily digestible digital content to keep you educated and aware of critical events in the adult industry. It also helps keep the brain juices flowing (and some other juices too). Make sure to check it out.
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, often referred to as the Clarity Act, is a bill meant to finally define how cryptocurrencies are regulated. It underscores the all-too-familiar tension between traditional finance and the crypto industry. At its core, the legislation aims to establish guardrails for stablecoins and crypto platforms, but negotiations have stalled.
While some concessions have been made, a heated debate persists. Banks expressed particular concern about crypto firms offering interest-like rewards on stablecoin holdings, citing that these incentives could siphon deposits from the traditional financial system. Industry leaders like the Chamber of Progress argue that this restriction is anticompetitive, and protects banking margins, not consumers, and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong warns that such restrictions could cripple legitimate crypto use cases. Though there isn’t much clarity about how the CLARITY Act will turn out, what is clear is that this battleground’s outcome will impact the future of finance.
In the wake of the PornHub data leak, SpankU released an important article to teach the public about data security. If keeping yourself safe online wasn’t on your New Year’s resolution list, it should have been, and this is the perfect place to start.
In early 2025, the Senate proposed the SCREEN Act (S. 737), which would require commercial websites hosting pornography or other content deemed harmful to minors to verify users’ ages before granting access. Framed as a child-safety measure in an era of ubiquitous online explicit material, the bill aims to push platforms beyond self-reported age gates toward more robust identity checks. But its implications reach far beyond the adult industry: thought leaders in the privacy space (and others) warn that it could normalize ID verification and surveillance across large swaths of the internet, creating new privacy and data-security risks, while supporters argue it gives parents and policymakers a long-sought tool to curb minors’ exposure to online porn.
That federal push toward stricter oversight of online adult content comes as state and local politicians are also experimenting with ways to curb—or capitalize on—the rapidly expanding creator-driven porn economy.
A viral clash between OnlyFans star Sophie Rain and long-shot Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback underscores the cultural politics that are now enveloping the creator economy. Fishback has proposed a 50 percent “sin tax” (wish we were kidding, but that’s actually what it’s called) on income earned by OnlyFans creators. This is framed as both a moral deterrent and a funding source for schools, but Rain and other creators argue that this scapegoats workers who rely on the platform to support themselves. This highlights a broader debate over whether adult-content platforms represent exploitation that require government intervention or are a form of digital labor that deserves the same protections as other gig-economy work.
The adult industry scored a major victory at the end of last year when, for the first time ever, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency explicitly named “adult entertainment” among lawful sectors that major banks had improperly restricted or “debanked.” By formally classifying adult content businesses alongside industries like energy and firearms as legitimate customers entitled to financial services, the OCC effectively acknowledged adult entertainment as a recognized, lawful commercial sector. Performers and platforms have long struggled to secure amid payment bans and account closures. For an industry often treated as reputationally toxic rather than economically real, that federal recognition could prove as consequential as new regulatory threats now emerging from Congress and statehouses.
Our progress is real, our moment has come, and supporting our fight only takes a few minutes of your time. This is the battleground not only for the rights of adult content creators, but for the rights of the public at large. For more details on how to work the system to your advantage, check out our article on how to fight back.
Get ready to fall in love with Stephanie Love, our SpankMate of the Month. Everyone wanted this tatted baddie to be their Valentine this past month, and it’s easy to see why. The utterly bodacious blonde with dangerous curves and doe eyes joined Team Spank for a spicy, lingerie-clad photoshoot, and let’s just say the photos beat the heck out of flowers or chocolates.
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