As of October 2021, creators on Patreon can offer social tokens, or creator coins, as a membership benefit for their patrons. Below are answers to some of the most common creator questions about this. This Help Center article will be updated as additional resources become available.
Would my coins be developed, issued, and/or stored on Patreon?
On Patreon, creators can offer the coins as a membership benefit for patrons. Patreon is not the developer, issuer, or distributor of the coins, and cannot change the supply of the coins.
How might creators develop their own creator coins?
There are a number of third party companies that creators can work with to develop, issue, and store their own coins. It could be available to supporters off-platform, too. Creators can elect for their coins to unlock special perks for patrons like exclusive merchandise, passes to a show or livestream, access to an exclusive Discord community, and more.
Will my coins be exclusively available to my patrons?
Patreon does not require you to keep the coins exclusive to patrons on Patreon, but if you want to make it exclusive to patrons on Patreon, you can.
Is developing creator coins mandatory?
No. The decision as to whether you would like to offer creator coins is opt-in, totally up to individual creators. The idea is to allow creators to have new options in the types of benefits they can provide to patrons, not to force you to provide this type of benefit.
How are creator coins held by patrons?
Coins can be held by a third party company on behalf of your patrons or by the patrons themselves in a non-custodial wallet (where custody of a user’s funds are 100% in the user’s control).
Does Patreon offer cryptocurrency as a means of payout?
No. Patreon’s payout process remains the same, and Patreon continues to disallow partial payments such as coupons, gift cards, or incentives to purchase cryptocurrency. The policy around creator coins as a membership benefit is strictly a new type of benefit creators can pursue if they so choose.
Are creator coins tradable or redeemable for USD or other fiat currency on Patreon?
No.
Where can I read Patreon’s guidelines with respect to creator coins?
I have additional questions about Patreon’s guidelines related to creator coins.
We welcome additional questions! You can email Guidelines@Patreon.com.