The online porn industry has been an early adopter of bitcoins, so it’s no surprise that a key trade event has added a special panel discussion on the currency’s business implications.

XBIZ Summit, set for May 14 – 17 in Coconut Grove, Florida, has scheduled a session titled, “Bitcoin: The next big thing?”

Featuring BitPay co-founder and CEO Tony Galippi, along with Avi Bitton of Wicked Pictures, Douglas Richter of AWEmpire and David Neawedde of JuicyAds, the panel will “look at the nature of bitcoin and its role in the economic ecosystem.”

“Bitcoin is an open-source, distributed system with qualities of both a currency and a commodity,” said Bitton. “Whether it’s the future of commerce or just a relatively temporary fad, this highly volatile asset is changing the game for giants (such as) PayPal who are taking the five-year-old disruptive technology seriously.”

He added, “The growing bitcoin market is evangelical about its use … Our industry needs to know more about it.”