Not to be pedantic, but you wrote "cutting out the middleman." Doesn't patreon take a small cut? Aren't they a middleman? (Though undoubtedly one taking a much smaller share than previous ones.)
And tell me, how does one cut out the middleman when they convert their Bitcoin earnings to US dollars or whatever currency they prefer?
The point of donating money to the author of the piece is to encourage them to continue writing this epic story. Giving them Bitcoin is akin to leaving a tip to your server where the tip appears to be currency but rather instead is a Chick tract with the suggestion that you'll pray for their soul.
I'm not in the mood to register with some service and hand out my CC data to give the author a buck. In contrast I'd scan a QR code in a heartbeat.
(maybe 'cutting out a middleman' is pedantically accurate in this case. We seem to have identified at least two middlemen in this process)