Long response but here it is

Again as a Hololive fan, many Hololive fans are nerdy people with a void in their life that is filled with cute, wholesome anime streamers. People who work in STEM jobs that make good money but don't have a real life to spend it on. If you watch Hololive streams you will see $100 donations quite frequently, sometimes not even with any text attached.

People grow attached to things that make them feel positive emotions and Hololive streams are a very positive place, very different from most other online spaces. People (or, more aptly, characters) like Inugami Korone or Shirakami Fubuki are always happy and cheerful, they're always fun and their streams are free of the cynicism and negativity you will see in pretty much any other stream, including the chat. Everyone knows that it's fake, that they're just playing a character, but that doesn't matter, really. It's kinda like wrestling in that sense.

That's why I grew so attached to it. Where else can you find titles like "Korone and Okayu Have Endless Fun Playing X" and have it be genuine? Just a doggirl and a catgirl having fun and laughing while messing around in a video game, completely detached from the irony-poisoned, cynical rest of the internet.

This is why people are so invested in them, and why many have no issue paying this and more. They're a source of genuine, wholesome joy and those can be scarce in a world where your soul is constantly being sucked out of your body via exploitation and austerity.

I don't spend money on it myself but I understand people who do. Sucks that Hololive itself is run by greedy ghouls but oh well.