'Chicago Sun-Times' to Test Bitcoin and Twitter Paywall

What's This?

By Jason Abbruzzese2014-01-14 22:03:06 UTC

The Chicago Sun-Times will soon test a new paywall system that accepts bitcoins as well as tweets from readers in return for access to content.

On Feb. 1, The Sun-Times's site will prompt readers to either donate to, in the form of bitcoins, or tweet about the Taproot Foundation. The paywall will be up for 24 hours to test the technology, which has been created by micropayment startup Bitwall.

See also: What the World’s Biggest Websites Looked Like at Launch

The paper is the ninth-largest U.S. newspaper by circulation, but has had economic difficulties similar to those felt across the industry.

"We continue to experiment and test new technologies that we believe engage our readers and look forward to being the first major U.S.A. newspaper to test a bitcoin-based paywall," Jim Kirk, publisher and editor of The Sun-Times, said in a press release.

The paywall is not the first example of The Sun-Times exploring technology to help the company's financial situation. In May of 2013, the paper eliminated its photography staff, opting instead to focus on having reporters generate multimedia content.

Bitwall was founded by Nic Meliones, Alex Meliones and Chad Sahlhoff and won the 2013 Bitcoin Hackaton. It then went through Boost, a San Mateo, Calif.-based accelerator.

Nic Meliones, chief executive of Bitwall, said they began working with The Sun-Times in December, and that the company was willing to move quickly to give the paywall a try.

"We gave them a demo of the product, essentially a walk through of all the possibilities of the platform," Meliones told Mashable. "I think it's a huge testament to The Chicago Sun Times that they're able to act and move that quickly. We're a start up so we're used to being able to move that quickly."

Bitwall had previously worked with The Dish Daily , which implemented a Twitter paywall without the bitcoin element.

Image: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Topics: Bitcoin, Business, Media, paywall, Twitter