James Heckman, founder and CEO of Roundtable (NASDAQ: RTB), told Mario Nawfal that he has offered a solution to fix the $200 billion media industry after announcing the company's integration with Coinbase on June 22. Heckman stated that journalism has been 'ripped apart,' with creators losing control of their work as social platforms auction off their data and AI aggregates their content while cutting them out of economics. The professional media industry faces challenges including opaque payment systems, delayed compensation, and lack of control over data, intellectual property, audiences, and advertisers.
Roundtable Announces Coinbase Integration on June 22
On June 22, Roundtable and Coinbase leadership announced instant payments, immutable real-time reporting, and a Media Liquidity Pool for the professional media industry as 200 publishers went live at Cannes Lions. The announcement was backed by Coinbase and USDC. Roundtable is an AI-powered DeFi media platform that pays creators the instant their work earns, with settlements in USDC through Coinbase.
Platform Delivers Instant USDC Payments to Creators
Heckman stated that there is a 'small percentage of the world who are truly professional journalists, and they deserve to be paid for their craft fairly, with transparent reporting, immutable contracts, their own wallet, their own money, their own IP, protected on-chain with their own keys.' He described the platform's functionality: reporters can open the app to see real-time earnings by story, with numbers moving like a national debt clock. When users need to transfer money, they press a button and funds go straight to their Coinbase account in USDC.
Hertzog Cites Censorship Resistance as Development Motivation
Eyal Hertzog, Chief Technology Officer at Roundtable, said censorship resistance was a key reason for building the platform. Hertzog stated: 'It's absurd that one person can control the discussion of billions of people. I remember a graph of political conversation on Facebook: it fell sharply around 2020 and jumped back up in 2024. That was policy, muting political discussion. That was the core motivation behind everything I've worked on for the last six or seven years: media should be free.'
Real-Time Monetization Tracking Explained
Heckman provided an analogy to explain the platform's functionality: 'Imagine you're a reporter in a foxhole. You don't know if you're making money, and your life is on the line. Now you open the app and the numbers are moving in real time, exactly how much you're making, by every story. It ticks like the national debt clock. You can run your business while you're being shot at. And when you need to get money to your family, you press a button and it goes straight to your Coinbase account in USDC.' He noted that censorship methods include shadow-banning, cutting CPMs, removing advertisers, and debanking, citing the Canadian truckers having their accounts shut down.
FAQ
What did Roundtable announce on June 22?
Roundtable and Coinbase leadership announced instant payments, immutable real-time reporting, and a Media Liquidity Pool for the professional media industry as 200 publishers went live at Cannes Lions, backed by Coinbase and USDC.
How does Roundtable pay journalists?
Roundtable pays creators instantly when their work earns, with settlements in USDC through Coinbase. Users can view real-time earnings by story in the app and transfer funds directly to their Coinbase account by pressing a button.
Why did Eyal Hertzog develop the platform?
Hertzog cited censorship resistance as the core motivation, stating that it is absurd for one person to control the discussion of billions of people and that media should be free.
