Video platform Rumble announced October 24 that it will enable Bitcoin and cryptocurrency tipping for content creators, allowing its 51 million monthly active users to send payments directly to video makers using digital assets.
The feature, expected to fully roll out by early to mid-December, follows Tether’s $775 million investment in Rumble last December and CEO Chris Pavlovski’s pledge nearly a year ago to integrate crypto payments into the platform.
Rumble’s move extends its cryptocurrency strategy beyond its $20 million Bitcoin treasury allocation into user-facing payment functionality, potentially positioning it as one of the largest creator platforms to enable native crypto transactions.
“Imagine you can tip your favourite creators with USDT or BTC directly on Rumble.” Chris Pavlovski, CEO, Rumble
Corporate strategy meets user-level payments
Rumble’s decision to adopt Rumble Bitcoin tipping is rooted in its broader corporate-treasury and platform strategy. In December 2024, Tether’s $775 million investment secured a minority stake in Rumble and sent its stock soaring by 76% according to some reports.
Shortly thereafter, Rumble’s board approved a treasury diversification strategy to allocate up to US$ 20 million of its excess cash reserves into Bitcoin.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino emphasised the alignment between the companies:
“This could become one of the largest creator networks using Bitcoin and stablecoins.” Paolo Ardoino, CTO, Tether
By introducing Rumble Bitcoin tipping, Rumble bridges its treasury strategy anchoring value in Bitcoin to its creator ecosystem where that value becomes a medium of exchange rather than merely a store-of-value.
Implications for creators, viewers and the crypto economy
For creators on Rumble, the rollout of Rumble Bitcoin tipping opens a valuable monetisation channel: direct peer-to-peer crypto payments from viewers, bypassing many intermediaries and payment rails.
For viewers, the feature allows borderless tipping in Bitcoin (or supported cryptos), offering potential financial access in regions where traditional payment systems are limited. According to analysts, this may also accelerate the mainstream use-case of Bitcoin beyond trading.
Within the broader ecosystem, Rumble’s adoption of Rumble Bitcoin tipping signals that cryptocurrency is moving from institutional treasuries into platform-level payments. It may also pressure larger platforms to adopt similar crypto-enabled tipping features.
Challenges however remain: regulatory clarity around cross-border crypto payments, user adoption of crypto wallets, volatility in digital assets, and user-experience friction. Rumble acknowledges testing phases and bug resolution ahead of full rollout.
What to watch next for Rumble Bitcoin tipping
Key metrics to monitor include: how many creators enable Rumble Bitcoin tipping; the volume of crypto tips flowing through the system; how it impacts creators’ revenue mix (crypto vs ads); and how users adopt the wallet and payment workflow.
Rumble expects a full rollout of the feature by early to mid-December 2025 via its partnership with Tether.
Industry watchers will also examine whether this prompts other major platforms to implement similar crypto tipping tools and whether regulatory agencies introduce oversight specific to such features.
For crypto investors and observers, the Rumble Bitcoin tipping program may signal a notable growth vector for Bitcoin utility platform-level adoption of crypto payments rather than purely speculative holdings
In conclusion, the Rumble Bitcoin tipping initiative marks a pivotal shift: from crypto as a treasury store-of-value to crypto as a functional medium of exchange in a creator economy. As the feature rolls out, it will test how deeply cryptocurrency can embed in mainstream platform monetisation.