Many content creators, including those on YouTube, are seizing the opportunity to receive donations from their audience. What's interesting is that an increasing number of users are not limiting themselves to traditional fiat currencies, but are embracing crypto payments. The realm of digital currency donations is rapidly expanding, with The Giving Block predicting a volume exceeding $10 billion in the next decade.
We will explain how to accept cryptocurrency donations on YouTube, their advantages, and how to make sending them more convenient for the audience.
YouTube: Brief Information
YouTube is an American video hosting website. It is the most popular platform for posting videos and one of the most visited websites. As of September 2024, it has a daily audience of more than 6 million people.
The platform is used by content creators with a wide variety of topics, from humorous sketch shows and life videoblogs to training videos and product reviews. Platform formats include long-form videos, short vertical videos (Shorts), online broadcasts and text posts for subscribers.
Although the content posted is free to the audience by default, YouTube offers video creators several opportunities to earn money. These include monetizing videos with ads, as well as paid subscriptions and comments («Sponsorships» and «Super Thanks»).
In addition, many content creators place ad integrations, as well as connect donation acceptance. One of the ways to do so is to use crypto payments.
Advantages of Accepting Donations in Cryptocurrency
Donating in cryptocurrency has several advantages that make users turn to this method:
- Low fees. Generally, donations in fiat currency are accepted through payment systems, the commission of which can reach 3-5% depending on the payment method. However, due to the smaller number of intermediaries, accepting cryptocurrency, even if it is done through a processor, requires a commission of at most $1-3.
- Anonymity. The recipient cannot access the sender's personal and payment information when making crypto transfers. This allows you to maintain anonymity and protect your data, which is an advantage for many users. By sending a crypto donation, the audience can be assured that no information leakage is possible.
- Larger donations. According to BitPay cryptocurrency exchange estimates published for 2021, the average cryptocurrency donation is $4620, which is five times the average fiat currency donation ($813). Thus, connecting crypto payments allows you to reach an audience that is willing to send larger amounts.
- Accepting funds from all over the world. Crypto payments are decentralized, which facilitates working with foreigners even amid sanctions.
- Additional popular way of making payments. Expanding the list of available payment methods is one of the options to increase conversions. Accepting money in cryptocurrency allows you to offer your audience an additional payment method, increasing the chance that a user will send a donation.
- Privacy. The sender only needs the recipient's wallet address to make a crypto payment.This allows the video creator to accept donations while maintaining privacy and not giving the audience access to their name, phone number, and payment information.
How to Accept Cryptocurrency Donations
Providing a wallet address
The easiest option to organize the receipt of cryptocurrency donations online is to create a cryptocurrency wallet and specify its address in the description of the video. However, this method has several disadvantages. First, sending donations is done completely manually, which can be inconvenient for users: you need to choose a network, convert the desired amount of donation from fiat to cryptocurrency, etc.
Second, the recipient of donations has no protection against dirty cryptocurrency, a feature that many crypto processors offer.
Placing a QR code
The second way to receive cryptocurrency on YouTube is to convert the wallet address into a QR code, which can be placed in the video itself. The function of converting the address into a QR code for payment is offered by most wallets.
This is a more user-friendly way to transfer a donation: you won't need to manually copy the address. Besides, a QR code attracts more attention than the wallet address in the description. Nevertheless, for the recipient, this option has the same disadvantages as placing the address: inconvenience of tracking, lack of protection.
Using permanent link
One way to receive cryptocurrency payments on YouTube is to use a crypto processing service. These services allow you to automate the processing of crypto payments, track transactions, collect statistics, automatically scan transactions to protect against 'dirty' money, and convert received funds into stablecoins. The specific functions available will vary depending on the service you choose, so it's important to research your options and choose a service that best meets your needs.
To receive cryptocurrency payments on YouTube, you will need to create a permanent link and place it in the description of the video. By clicking on it, the sender of the donation will get access to a convenient form with automatic conversion of the fiat amount into cryptocurrency, calculation of the commission and selection of the network. The link can also be converted into a QR code for greater user convenience.
How to Start Accepting Cryptocurrency Donations
To organize the acceptance of donations of cryptocurrency from YouTube audiences, you will need to:
- Create a cryptocurrency wallet. There are various services that allow you to do this: from large crypto exchanges to small platforms. The requirements for creating a wallet depend on the service you choose. For some, you only need to provide a name and email, but most popular platforms also request documents for identity verification.
- Connect donations. To get donations, you can use any of the methods listed above: place the wallet address, convert it into a QR code, connect crypto processing to place a payment link. When choosing any option, it is important to inform the audience about the new feature and tell them how to send donations in this way.
- Transfer the received funds into fiat. It is recommended to do this within a short period of time after receipt, so as not to risk losing money due to the volatility of digital currencies. Some services accepting donations in cryptocurrency allow you to immediately withdraw funds to a bank card, while others require manual conversion.
Creating a Permanent Donation Link
You can start accepting crypto donations via a link through a cryptocurrency processor as follows:
- Sign up with the payment system. Let's look at the process using CryptoCloud as an example: you only need an email to register. Other services may require verification.
- Create and customize the project. It is necessary to briefly describe your business, select currencies for donations, specify the type of activity. After creating a project, you can upload a logo that will be displayed on the checkout page.
- Generate a permanent payment link in the project settings. When clicking on this link, the user will be able to enter the desired donation amount in USD, after which the system will automatically create an account in the selected cryptocurrency and transfer the sender of the donation to the payment page.
- If necessary, convert the link into a QR code.
- Place the link or QR code in the description or in the video itself and start receiving donations.
Crypto Processing CryptoCloud
CryptoCloud is a payment system for collecting donations and accepting payments in cryptocurrency. It supports major currencies (including BTC, ETH, LTC, USDT, TUSD) and allows you to track transaction analytics in the merchant's personal account.
The service can be used both for accepting donations on the website via an integrated checkout and for working on YouTube and other platforms via payment links.
The user can choose which party pays the commission, activate automatic AML checks of transactions to protect against fraud and dirty currency, and activate automatic conversion of received funds into USDT stablecoin to protect against volatility.
In addition to accepting payments, the system allows you to quickly withdraw funds to your wallet, customize the payment page. The service's commission is from 0.4%.
Accepting Crypto Donations on YouTube
YouTube content creators can monetize their creativity in several ways. One of the main ones is accepting donations. In addition to traditional donations in fiat currency, many video creators are also considering connecting crypto payments.
The most convenient way to launch donations in cryptocurrency is to connect crypto processing and offer your audience to send donations through a payment link. CryptoCloud can be a convenient option for this purpose: it allows you to work through a customizable checkout, supports major currencies and offers a number of additional features, including AML checks.
