Twitch is the leading live-streaming platform out there. It provides infrastructure for thousands of streamers worldwide who daily broadcast their activities for millions of viewers. Sadly, Twitch has a poor track record of exposing the personal data of its partners. Recently, information about the revenues of numerous Twitch streamers was published online, which indicated that the security systems of the platform were breached at some point. Although the situation made Twitch more conscious of its security, there is still no guarantee that the next time an attack will not affect streamers’ earnings. Thus, it becomes particularly important for streamers to find ways of getting their Twitch money safely.
Key points:
- Currently, Twitch is the leading live-streaming platform in the world.
- Recently, information about the revenues of numerous Twitch streamers was published online, which indicated that the security systems of the platform were breached.
- Cryptocurrency is a great way for Twitch streamers to get their funds safely.
- NOWPayments has many tools for accepting crypto donations and payments, including Twitch donation button.
How do twitch streamers make money?
Twitch Programs
Twitch streamers generate revenues in a variety of ways. The first method is getting a Twitch partnership. Currently, the platform offers two-tier programs for its streamers. There are Twitch Affiliate and Twitch Partner programs. The former constitutes the first step to receiving a stable income on Twitch and actually making a living off streaming. To become a Twitch affiliate, one needs to gain at least 50 followers and broadcast 500 minutes in a month. Streamers also must have at least 3 viewers on average. Once all of these requirements are met, the streamer becomes an affiliate. The affiliate status grants them the ability to offer subscriptions to their audience and earn money from them. The Twitch Partner program allows the streamer to turn their revenues up a notch. In order to become a Twitch partner, one has to stream 25 hours in the last month and on 12 unique days. Twitch Partner candidates also must have at least 75 viewers on average. Twitch Partners receive additional income from ads and can negotiate their contracts with Twitch. They also consistently get brand deals. All the revenues generated as part of the Twitch Programs are paid out to the streamer by Twitch using their preferred payout method.
Twitch Bits
Twitch Bits is the native currency of Twitch which viewers use for different purposes. Twitch Bits is a popular way of donating to the streamer. Twitch Bits are usually called mini-donations because people usually do not send large sums of money to their favorite broadcasters in Bits. In order to buy Bits, viewers need to have a PayPal or Amazon Payments account. Streamers create their own rewards systems where Bits are used as the primary method of payment. For instance, streamers can grant access to the chat only to those who pay for it with Bits. Viewers also often spend their Bits on emotes available for using them in the chat. Twitch streamers create special tip jars which viewers can “fill” using Bits. Twitch pays streamers 1 cent for every Bit spent on their page. Basically, it is not the most profitable way of getting money on Twitch, but when it adds up, it can turn into a sizable sum.
Donations
Donations provide the largest share of revenues for many streamers. While Twitch takes away a certain percent from every subscription fee paid, donations go into the pocket of the streamer entirely. Of course, depending on the method chosen by the streamer to receive donations, some portion is still paid to the transaction processor. Nevertheless, donations constitute the most profitable option when it comes to earning on Twitch. Every streamer is eventually aiming to make their donations the main source of revenue, supplying them with sufficient money to become full-time broadcasters. Even those streamers who have a small audience can still earn good money off donations by making their content interesting and engaging. Securing Twitch donations is vital for streamers. As shown by the recent data breach, Twitch’s systems are susceptible to external attacks. While there is hardly anything the Twitch streamers can do to secure their Affiliate and Partner programs’ earnings, the broadcasters can guarantee a great deal of safety to their donations by simply choosing the right donation methods.
Ways of getting money on Twitch
PayPal
PayPal is perhaps the most popular method among Twitch Streamers to get both their Affiliate and Partner revenues and donations. PayPal is a well-established payment processing company that has been in the business for more than two decades. PayPal is known for its customer-oriented policy and is always ready to assist clients in difficult situations. Twitch streamers like PayPal for its simplicity and user-friendly design. Essentially, as long as PayPal’s clients comply with the company’s terms and conditions, they are guaranteed to have an excellent customer experience. Nevertheless, PayPal is not the best service when it comes to processing donations and Twitch payouts. Recently, PayPal increased its donation fees for Twitch streamers. Now, from every $1 donation, streamers end up receiving 0.48 cents which is much less than before. It is clear that such fees put at risk the income of smaller streamers who do not get much from their donations. In terms of using PayPal to receive Twitch payouts, the situation is also quite bleak. Essentially, despite the fact that Twitch partners and affiliates living in the US get charged only $0.25 for their payout withdrawal, those based outside of the country must pay $5 to PayPal for every payout.
Paper Check
Paper Check is one of the possible ways of receiving a Twitch payout. The method is only available to streamers who are part of the Affiliate and Partner programs since they are the only people who get revenues from subscriptions and Bits donations. Paper checks are, of course, a thing of the past in the majority of countries. Yet, it is still a fairly safe method of getting your money from Twitch. When using paper checks, streamers do not have to disclose their banking information to the platform. Moreover, even if the check gets stolen, the perpetrator will be unlikely to cash it in, considering the bank will require them to provide a signature and ID. It may take more than one week for the checks sent by Twitch to arrive. So, it is not the quickest way of getting your money.
Wire Transfers and Credit/Debit Cards
A bank wire transfer is another fairly popular way of getting paid by Twitch. It is also quite secure, so streamers will not have any problems with receiving their money. At the same time, bank transfers require streamers to disclose their private information to the platform, such as their bank account.
Twitch does not offer credit/debit cards as a payout method, but streamers can set up their donations using this option. Basically, if a streamer has a Mastercard or Visa card, they can get their donations from the audience sent right to this card. The biggest shortcoming of cards is their susceptibility to chargebacks. For instance, an audience member can send a donation to the streamer’s card and then ask the bank to charge it back. In such cases, streamers may also face a temporary bank account suspension. There are many services that enable streamers to accept money using credit and debit cards. Stream Labs is possibly the most popular service that lets streamers set up their donation alerts and methods.
Skrill
Skrill is also a common service that streamers like to offer as a donation option. Skrill is basically an alternative to PayPal. Yet, Skrill features a larger number of currencies which is beneficial for streamers who want to target audience members from different countries. Skrill, unlike PayPal, offers free cross-border transaction fees, which is another advantage of the service. Skrill has an easy-to-navigate interface that will not cause any inconvenience when creating an account with the service. All one needs to start using Skrill is a bank account.
Cryptocurrency payments on Twitch
Advantages of using crypto on Twitch
Security
Cryptocurrencies are secure mediums of exchange. Blockchain is the key technology that governs cryptocurrencies. Every blockchain achieves trust among participants by embracing the principles of decentralization, cryptography, and consensus. In the case of blockchain, all transactions are bundled into blocks which, in their turn, form an unbreakable chain. The entire network reaches a consensus on each transaction, and only then the block gets validated. As a result, it is virtually impossible for anyone to tamper with the data recorded on a blockchain. That is why, for instance, the chargeback fraud is non-existent in blockchain since all transactions are irreversible and cannot be changed. Thus, blockchain constitutes a system with a superior level of security.
Transparency
Cryptocurrency transactions, in the majority of cases, are transparent. Therefore, every person has access to information on each transaction that has ever been processed by blockchain. Streamers can benefit from this feature by allowing their audience to see clearly how much they get in donations. Of course, some streamers would rather prefer to keep such information private, and they also have a crypto solution for it. For instance, they can get their donations in Monero, a cryptocurrency which offers more privacy to users by making transactions untraceable.
Speed
Crypto transactions are extremely fast. Even Bitcoin whose transactions are not the quickest of all, can be sent and received within seconds using the Lightning Network. There are also cryptocurrencies such as NANO and DASH, which can be transferred in seconds by default.
Fees
It was already mentioned how a platform like PayPal charges its clients enormous fees. Yet, streamers who rely on crypto transactions will end up with more money in their pockets, especially if they choose the right coins. For example, a fee for an XRP transaction costs less than a cent which means that the streamer will get their donation almost in all its entirety.
Get crypto donations on Twitch with NOWPayments
If you are a streamer and wish to feature crypto donations on your Twitch page, then consider doing it with NOWPayments. We have designed a convenient button that you can place on your page. By pressing the button, your audience will be able to donate to you with their crypto. The coins available for donations are chosen only by you. NOWPayments offers more than 100 cryptocurrencies, all of which you can feature as donation options.
If you want to offer the crypto donation method but still prefer to be paid in fiat currencies, it is not a problem. NOWPayments allows its partners to enable the crypto-to-fiat conversion feature, which will automatically convert your viewers’ crypto donations to fiat.
Featuring crypto donations is beneficial for streamers also because it allows them to reach out to a larger fan base. Not all people have the ability to send donations with PayPal. Yet, in the case of cryptocurrencies, there is virtually no limit. It does not matter where your audience members live, they will always have the option to send some crypto since blockchain is not limited by geographic borders.
Sell merch for crypto
Every streamer is constantly looking for ways to maximize their earnings. Selling merchandise is a popular way to get another source of income and engage with more people online. Viewers love giving money to Twitch streamers, yet only when they can offer a good quality product in return. Be it a quality gaming session or a t-shirt with a cool design, people are more than happy to pay for it. Streamers can increase their merch revenues simply by switching to cryptocurrencies. As mentioned earlier, cryptocurrency transaction fees are extremely low. As a result, streamers can charge their clients less for their merchandise. NOWPayments has several tools for accepting cryptocurrency payments. For instance, streamers can sell merch using crypto invoices and a web-based Point-of-Sale terminal. Those streamers who host their merch stores on platforms such as PrestaShop, WooCommerce, Magento 2, WHMCS, OpenCart, Zen Cart, Shopify, and Shopware can use special plugins.
Conclusion
Currently, Twitch streamers can utilize a long list of methods to receive payouts and donations from their audience members. Cryptocurrency is an excellent way for Twitch streamers to get their money safely and save significant sums on fees. Twitch streamers can utilize NOWPayments’ tools for accepting crypto donations and payments.