Journalists getting paid for their work usually means waiting weeks, sometimes months, for a check to clear through layers of ad networks and finance departments. Roundtable says it just erased that wait entirely. The Nasdaq-listed media technology company announced on Sept. 23, 2026, that its new DeFi media payment platform is fully live, settling advertising revenue with journalists in real time through Coinbase’s $USDC infrastructure — a shift the company frames as the end of an era for how the media business handles money.
Key takeaways
- Roundtable’s DeFi and AI-powered media payment platform went live on Sept. 23, 2026, integrated with Coinbase’s $USDC payment infrastructure.
- The system pays journalists in real time through smart wallets tied to their Coinbase accounts, cutting out traditional payment intermediaries.
- Roundtable is migrating $100 million in advertising payments from a legacy fiat system to its Web3, AI-driven Media OS under a ten-year contract.
- RTB shares began trading on Coinbase the same day the platform launched.
- Former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss joined Roundtable’s board on Sept. 18 and is promoting the platform to major European media brands.
A DeFi Media Payment Platform Built on Coinbase’s $USDC Rails
Roundtable describes itself as an AI- and DeFi-powered Enterprise MediaOS and marketplace, and the platform now running in production ties directly into what the company calls its “Media Liquidity Pool.” Advertising payments settle in $USDC through smart wallets that are linked to each journalist’s Coinbase account, according to the company’s announcement.
That setup pairs Coinbase’s $USDC payment infrastructure with Roundtable’s enterprise-grade Web3 MediaOS and its AI-driven smart wallet system. Because there is no human intermediary sitting between a completed ad sale and the journalist who earned a share of it, publishers and reporters get full autonomy over how they’re paid, along with transparency into the process and control over their own intellectual property — all rewarded, according to Roundtable, in real time rather than on a delayed billing cycle.
This is the part of the story that matters beyond the press release: media payments have historically run on 90-day fiat cycles built for a print-and-broadcast era, not a digital one. Swapping that for instant $USDC settlement is less about novelty and more about removing friction that has quietly squeezed independent journalists for years.
The $100 Million Ad Ecosystem Migration
The scale behind the launch is significant. Roundtable has signed a ten-year contract to move 21 major media brands, hundreds of journalists, and an audience of nearly 100 million viewers off a legacy Web1 platform and onto its Web3, AI-driven Media OS. That migration covers roughly $100 million in advertising revenue that previously moved through manual fiat payments — payments that, under the old system, could take 90 days or longer to clear.
The platform is already operating in the United States with hundreds of journalists using it, and Roundtable says it tracks and clears trillions of AI-monitored bids through its dynamic DeFi smart wallet technology.
A Ten-Year Deal Tied to Arena Group’s Successor, Paradium.AI
The migration traces back to a broader agreement Roundtable CEO James Heckman announced days earlier: a ten-year, $1 billion partnership with The Arena Group, now operating as Paradium.AI (NYSE: PAAI), to move, operate and monetize Arena’s media portfolio on Roundtable’s platform. That portfolio includes brands such as TheStreet, Parade, Men’s Journal, Athlon Sports, Autoblog and Powder, along with hundreds of journalists and nearly 100 million monthly consumers, according to the companies.
Roundtable has forecast $100 million in annualized revenue and an EBITDA-positive run rate on a stand-alone basis once the deal closes. The agreement also reunites Heckman and RTB co-founder Bill Sornsin with Paradium.AI CEO Paul Edmondson, who previously worked together in 2020. It remains subject to Roundtable’s minority investment of $89 million in cash and stock for roughly 49% of Paradium.AI, along with other closing conditions expected to be met in the fourth quarter.
“Professional media has historically surrendered economics, data and audience control to big tech, social platforms and intermediaries — and now AI. Roundtable’s operating system reverses that equation,” said Bill Sornsin, RTB co-founder.
RTB Shares Go Live on Coinbase, Liz Truss Leads European Expansion
Alongside the platform launch, RTB shares began trading on Coinbase as of the exchange’s opening on Sept. 23, 2026 — a move that puts Roundtable’s Nasdaq-listed equity directly on a crypto trading venue. Coinbase describes its broader push as bridging traditional finance and crypto across banking, payroll, credit and trading, and Roundtable is now tapping into that full ecosystem.
The company is also pushing beyond North America. Following the announcement of the $100 million, 21-brand deal in the U.S., Roundtable is unveiling its MediaOS and Coinbase integration to the British press this week. Leading that effort is Liz Truss, the former UK Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, who joined Roundtable’s Board of Directors on September 18th. Heckman is joining Truss in London to offer major media brands the platform at no cost, positioning it as part of a premium media coalition aimed at European press.
Why this matters: a former head of government publicly backing a crypto-linked payment platform for newsrooms signals an attempt to normalize DeFi rails inside an industry that has historically been slow, if not resistant, to adopting blockchain-based finance.
Executives Weigh In on the DeFi Shift
“$USDC is no longer an abstract promise for commercial use. We are embracing DeFi and crypto banking, starting with journalists being fairly rewarded for value already created,” said James Heckman, Founder and CEO of Roundtable. “Coinbase provides the institutional infrastructure to finance and bank our enterprise customers, while Roundtable’s AI/DeFi technology delivers immutability, transparency and accuracy. Together, we demonstrate how decentralized finance and $USDC can strengthen journalism and publishers.”
Coinbase’s own framing centers on payment cycles rather than crypto speculation. “Of the many ways blockchain and cryptocurrency are upgrading the financial system, few use cases are as compelling as transforming payment cycles for independent journalists. Coinbase is proud to support Roundtable’s mission to revolutionize ad sales and help the next generation of journalists thrive,” said John D’Agostino, Head of Institutional Strategy at Coinbase.
Truss, for her part, tied the platform to the pressures facing UK newsrooms specifically. “Great Britain has one of the world’s richest traditions of independent journalism and most respected media brands. Yet professional media faces unprecedented technological and economic challenges, particularly from AI and global technology platforms,” she said. “I’m honored to join Roundtable’s distinguished technology leaders and senior media executives, offering the highest level of technology — purpose-built for human-led, professional media.”
Roundtable (RTB Digital, Inc.) was built over years by co-founders Eyal Hertzog and James Heckman as an AI/DeFi-powered Enterprise Media Operating System spanning distribution, publishing, monetization, community, syndication and DeFi payment operations for professional media brands. Coinbase, meanwhile, positions itself as the platform underpinning custody, exchange liquidity, stablecoin infrastructure and global settlement — the same rails now carrying paychecks to reporters instead of just trading balances.
FAQ
What is Roundtable’s new media payment platform?
It is a DeFi and AI-powered media payment platform integrated with Coinbase’s $USDC infrastructure, enabling real-time ad payments directly to journalists.
How much advertising payment value is migrating to the new platform?
Roundtable is migrating $100 million in advertising payments over a ten-year period from traditional fiat to its Web3, AI-driven Media OS.
Who supports and promotes the Roundtable platform in Europe?
Former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss joined the Roundtable board and is promoting the platform to major European media brands as part of a coalition.
Are Roundtable’s shares publicly traded?
Yes, RTB shares began trading on Coinbase on September 23, 2026.
Article produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by the editorial team.
