OnlyFans is seeking an $8 billion valuation while 95% of NFT collections now trade at zero.
Note: This article is for educational and informational purposes only. See full disclaimer at the end.
The difference? One sells connection, the other sold speculation.
Welcome to consciousness commerce—where value flows not from products or services, but from the exchange of meaning itself.
This isn’t the attention economy anymore. We’ve moved beyond harvesting eyeballs and mining engagement metrics. What’s emerging is something fundamentally different: an economy where consciousness becomes currency, where meaning is the commodity, and where human connection represents the ultimate store of value.
Look at what’s happening right now across the digital landscape. A Patreon creator with 1,000 true fans earns more than influencers with millions of followers [1]. Steward-owned companies are rejecting profit maximization to preserve purpose [2]. Collectors pay millions for digital art that anyone can screenshot, seeking not the image but the meaning embedded in blockchain permanence [3].
These aren’t market anomalies. They’re early signals of an economic transformation as profound as the shift from industrial to information age.
The Mechanics of Meaning Exchange
Traditional commerce treats humans as consumers seeking satisfaction through acquisition. Consciousness commerce recognizes humans as creative beings seeking meaning through contribution and connection [4]. The difference isn’t semantic—it’s structural.
Consider the creator economy’s explosive growth, projected to surpass $231 billion by 2027 [5]. But here’s what the headlines miss: the real revolution isn’t in the money changing hands, but in what that money represents. When someone subscribes to a creator on Patreon, they’re not buying content—content is free everywhere. They’re buying belonging, participation, the privilege of supporting something meaningful.
The platforms that understand this are winning. OnlyFans, despite its controversial reputation, generates $7.2 billion annually because it sells intimacy and connection, not just content [6]. Meanwhile, traditional social platforms that treat creators as content factories are watching their most valuable users flee to platforms that recognize consciousness as capital.
This shift rewrites the fundamental equation of commerce. In traditional models, businesses create value, customers consume it, and profit gets extracted. In consciousness commerce, businesses create platforms, customers create value together, and everyone benefits from collective value creation [4].
The numbers tell the story. While the average YouTube video gets only 500 views, creators persist because those views represent moments of genuine connection [5]. Seventy-one percent of creators say they create content to pursue passion rather than profit—they’re recognizing that meaning has become more valuable than money [1].
Real Examples of Consciousness Trading
The evidence surrounds us, hiding in plain sight. AI-generated NFTs now account for 30% of new projects, not because people want computer-made art, but because they want to own a piece of the conversation about consciousness and creativity [7]. When someone buys an AI-generated artwork, they’re purchasing participation in humanity’s dialogue with machine intelligence.
Purpose-driven companies are outperforming traditional competitors by every metric. ESG investments rallied globally throughout market turmoil, with funds expected to reach €7.6 trillion by 2025 [8]. Investors aren’t suddenly altruistic—they’ve recognized that companies trading in meaning generate more sustainable returns than those merely trading in goods.
Even traditional businesses are pivoting toward consciousness commerce. When companies restructure as steward-owned entities, they’re not sacrificing profit—they’re recognizing that purpose itself has become their most valuable asset [2]. The market rewards this shift: purpose-driven companies show stock returns 2% better than traditional competitors [8].
The pandemic accelerated this transformation. Forced into isolation, people discovered they could receive the same fulfillment from conscious spending as from unconscious consumption [9]. Leaders were forced to place collective wellbeing over short-term profits, and many discovered this “triple-bottom-line” approach—people, profit, planet—actually enhanced rather than hindered success.
Look at the creator economy’s structure. Building a loyal community of 1,000 true fans generates more sustainable income than chasing millions of casual followers [1]. Patreon’s CEO Jack Conte puts it clearly: “People should feel something. They should feel a part of something bigger than themselves” [1]. This isn’t marketing speak—it’s economic reality.
The Philosophy Behind the Shift
We’re witnessing what economists call a “problematic of exchange”—a fundamental questioning of what commerce means. For most of human history, economic consciousness was pre-discursive, simply part of life’s fabric. Now it’s becoming explicit, conscious, intentional.
Aaron Hurst, who coined the term “Purpose Economy,” argues we’re in the fourth major economic era [10]. After agricultural, industrial, and information economies, we’re entering an economy where purpose provides the stability that career longevity once offered. Workers focus on constructing self through work rather than advancing within organizations.
This isn’t just about feeling good. The instability of modern employment, combined with globalization and climate change, has prompted us to prioritize purpose over position [10]. Purpose, rather than career longevity, now provides the stability we need.
The blockchain makes this philosophical shift concrete. When someone buys crypto art, they’re not purchasing pixels but buying into a narrative about value, creativity, and human expression in digital space. NFTs don’t just represent ownership; they represent participation in collective meaning-making. Every transaction becomes timestamped proof of belief in something beyond material value.
Think about what this means: consciousness itself has become the fundamental currency. The technology just makes it tradeable.
Opportunities for Participation
The barriers to entering consciousness commerce are lower than ever. You don’t need venture funding or revolutionary technology. You need clarity about the meaning you create and courage to value it appropriately.
Start by recognizing what you’re really selling. If you’re a consultant, you’re not selling time—you’re selling transformation. If you’re an artist, you’re not selling objects—you’re selling perspective. If you’re building a business, you’re not selling products—you’re selling participation in something larger than individual consumption.
The platforms exist. Patreon enables direct creator support with fees as low as 5% for early adopters, recognizing that facilitating meaning exchange is itself valuable [11]. Steward-ownership structures preserve purpose over profit, keeping businesses mission-driven and independent [2]. Blockchain technologies verify authenticity and enable fractional ownership of meaning [7].
But the real opportunity isn’t in platforms—it’s in recognition. Recognize that your unique consciousness, your particular way of processing reality, has value. Recognize that others hunger for authentic connection more than perfect products. Recognize that in an age of infinite digital reproduction, scarcity comes from meaning, not from material.
The metrics change too. Instead of measuring engagement, measure resonance. Instead of counting transactions, count transformations. Instead of optimizing for extraction, optimize for amplification—the degree to which your work enhances rather than depletes human potential [4].
Creator Michael Curry predicts the next evolution: creators becoming publicly traded entities, where fans don’t just subscribe but invest [12]. “Monetization becomes infrastructure, not a service. Fans don’t ‘buy content’ or ‘subscribe’. They own a piece of the creator’s upside.”
Beyond Material Exchange
The deepest implication of consciousness commerce is that it reveals exchange itself as spiritual practice. Every transaction becomes an opportunity for mutual recognition, every purchase a vote for the world we want to create.
This isn’t New Age thinking—it’s economic reality. When Forest Road Company considers paying $8 billion for OnlyFans, they’re not buying a platform; they’re buying a network of human consciousness creating value through connection [6]. The platform’s 4 million creators and 300 million users represent a global ecosystem of meaning exchange that rivals traditional social networks in scale.
The shift from extraction to amplification changes everything. Traditional businesses scale through efficiency improvements. Consciousness commerce businesses scale through network effects emerging from human creativity and connection [4]. The value doesn’t flow from business to customer—it emerges from the space between them.
We’re building an economy that recognizes what indigenous cultures always knew: that consciousness itself is the fundamental currency, that meaning is what makes us human, that connection is our deepest hunger. The technology just makes it tradeable.
Even failures teach us. When 95% of NFT collections collapse to zero value, they reveal the difference between speculation and meaning [3]. The NFTs that retain value are those that successfully encoded meaning, that became vessels for collective consciousness rather than vehicles for quick profit. Beeple’s $69 million sale wasn’t about the artwork—it was about participating in a historic moment of digital art legitimization.
The Evolution Ahead
Consciousness commerce isn’t replacing traditional commerce—it’s revealing what commerce always was beneath the surface. Every transaction is an exchange of consciousness. Every purchase is a statement of values. Every sale is a transfer of meaning. We’re just becoming conscious of it.
The implications ripple outward. If consciousness is currency, then mental health becomes economic infrastructure. If meaning is commodity, then purpose becomes production capacity. If connection is value, then community becomes capital.
Some argue we’re financializing human experience in dangerous ways. They’re right to worry. But the greater danger lies in pretending consciousness isn’t already commodified, that meaning isn’t already marketed, that our deepest human needs aren’t already harvested for profit.
By making these exchanges explicit, consciousness commerce creates opportunity for intentionality. We can choose what meaning to create, what consciousness to support, what connections to value. We can build economic systems that amplify rather than extract human potential.
The collaborative economy, circular economy, and bioeconomy all represent facets of this transformation. Each recognizes that value emerges from relationship rather than extraction, from circulation rather than accumulation, from consciousness rather than commodity.
As Aaron Hurst notes, “The Purpose Economy defined by the quest for people to have more purpose in their lives. Economic value creation is focused on enabling purposeful self-expression for employees and customers—through serving needs greater than their own, enabling personal growth, and building community” [10].
The future belongs not to those who extract the most value but to those who create the most meaning. Not to those who capture attention but to those who cultivate awareness. Not to those who optimize engagement but to those who enable enlightenment.
Your consciousness is your capital. Your meaning is your product. Your connection is your platform.
Welcome to the economy of everything that matters.
See you in the next insight.
Comprehensive Medical Disclaimer: The insights, frameworks, and recommendations shared in this article are for educational and informational purposes only. They represent a synthesis of research, technology applications, and personal optimization strategies, not medical advice. Individual health needs vary significantly, and what works for one person may not be appropriate for another. Always consult with qualified healthcare professionals before making any significant changes to your lifestyle, nutrition, exercise routine, supplement regimen, or medical treatments. This content does not replace professional medical diagnosis, treatment, or care. If you have specific health concerns or conditions, seek guidance from licensed healthcare practitioners familiar with your individual circumstances.
References
The references below are organized by study type. Peer-reviewed research provides the primary evidence base, while systematic reviews synthesize findings.
Industry / Technology Sources
- [1] Influencers Club. (2025). What is the Creator Economy | A Complete 2025 Guide. https://influencers.club/blog/creator-economy/
- [2] Purpose. (2025). A new economy is possible. We’re enabling its pioneers. https://purpose-economy.org/en/
- [3] The Motley Fool. (2023). 4 Best NFT Art to invest in 2025. https://www.fool.com/investing/stock-market/market-sectors/financials/non-fungible-tokens/nft-art/
- [4] THNK Machine. (2025). Beyond Engagement: The Rise of Consciousness Commerce and the Resonance Economy. https://www.thnkmachine.com/beyond-engagement-the-rise-of-consciousness-commerce-and-the-resonance-economy/
- [5] Lorenz, Taylor. (2025). Everything that Built the Creator Economy is Trying to Kill It. Posting Nexus. https://postingnexus.substack.com/p/everything-that-built-the-creator
- [6] TechFunding News. (2025). OnlyFans set for $8B exit, pushing creator economy’s limits. https://techfundingnews.com/onlyfans-set-for-8b-exit-pushing-creator-economys-limits/
- [7] Accio. (2025). NFT Art Trends 2025: What’s Next for Digital Creativity? https://www.accio.com/business/nft-art-trends-2025
- [8] Jameel, Fady. (2021). Commerce with a conscience – the unstoppable rise of ESG. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/commerce-conscience-unstoppable-rise-esg-fady-jameel
- [9] Hurst, Aaron. (2021). Why Conscious Economics Is the Leadership Style of the Future. Entrepreneur. https://www.entrepreneur.com/leadership/why-conscious-economics-is-the-leadership-style-of-the/369226
- [10] Purpose Economy. (2025). The Purpose Economy: Origins. https://purposeeconomy.com/origins
- [11] Patreon. (2025). Creator fees overview. Patreon Help Center. https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-us/articles/11111747095181-Creator-fees-overview
- [12] Curry, Michael. (2025). From OnlyFans to IPO — Why creators will be the next publicly traded companies. Medium. https://michaeldcurry1.medium.com/from-onlyfans-to-ipo-why-creators-will-be-the-next-publicly-traded-companies-8f2729511917
