Digital Tip Jar, the five-year-old company which allowed fans to leave their favorite musicians cash tips via digital currency, has announced it will shut down operations on June 3, 2019.
In a statement, the company said the reason for DTJ‘s shutdown is “We are only three people working in our spare time and making sure to protect our users from fraud has become a full-time job. It’s not fun and it ruins our reputation.” DTJ says, while other companies have “entire teams dedicated to these kinds of things,” the small staff running Digital Tip Jar could not keep up.
“We started Digital Tip Jar five years ago with a mission: to help creators receive tips in a cashless society,” said the statement. “That mission kept us motivated to help as many creators as we could during that time. We want to think every user and organization that has supported us throughout the years.”
DTJ ended its statement by suggesting another company which does similar work in supporting creators: Patreon. “We were around before, but have watched them take over the market. Luckily, their mission is in sync with ours. We recommend our users check out Patreon as a replacement.”
Digital Tip Jar will work normally until June 3, though the company will no longer accept new users. Until the shutdown date, creators will receive their tips as normal.
