The Ledger

The crypto ad network transparency index

Six networks scored on one question: how much can you find out before you commit? First edition, small sample, and we do not win every column.

Nobody publishes data about this category, so we are going to. This is the first edition of an index we will rerun every quarter, and it measures exactly one thing: how much a buyer or a publisher can learn from a network's public pages without entering a sales process.

A point is awarded for disclosure, never for the number being attractive. Blockchain-Ads saying it expects around $100,000 a month scores the same as A-ADS saying $100, because both let a reader decide in thirty seconds whether they are in the right place.

The index, Q3 2026

NetworkAdvertiser entry pointPricesPublisher rev sharePayout termsPublisher entry barScore
PraxAdsYesYesYesYesYes5 / 5
A-ADSYesPartialNoNoNo1.5 / 5
CointrafficNoNoNoNoYes1 / 5
Blockchain-AdsPartialNoNoNoNo0.5 / 5
CoinzillaNoNoNoPartialNo0.5 / 5
BitmediaNoNoNoNoNo0 / 5

Partial means something adjacent is stated without the figure itself: A-ADS quotes a CPM inside a case study rather than as a rate card, Blockchain-Ads describes typical spend rather than a minimum, and Coinzilla states a payout cadence and payment methods without a minimum amount.

Reading this honestly

PraxAds tops a table PraxAds invented, using criteria PraxAds chose, on the one dimension PraxAds built its product around. Any reader should discount that heavily. The index is worth something because the sources are linked and the question is binary - you can check every cell in twenty minutes and tell me which ones are wrong.

Here is the same set of networks scored on things we are not best at, which is the more useful table if you are actually choosing:

DimensionWho is ahead
Years of operating historyCoinzilla, Bitmedia, Cointraffic - PraxAds is at month 0
Size of publisher networkAll five - PraxAds has 2 owned properties and no external publishers
Publisher payout frequencyCoinzilla - weekly available, against our NET-15
Fiat payout railsCoinzilla - bank transfer; PraxAds is stablecoin only
Lowest publisher entry barCointraffic - 5,000/mo against our 10,000
Bid automationBitmedia - PraxAds matches campaigns by hand
Cheapest raw inventoryA-ADS - CPM from $0.02, with the quality caveat that implies

Six of seven rows go to somebody else. That is an accurate picture of a company in its first month, and publishing it is cheaper than having a customer discover it.

What would make this index better

More networks, a second reader scoring independently, and a diff against the previous quarter so movement is visible. All three arrive in the Q4 edition. If you run one of these networks and think a cell is wrong, send the URL: corrections are appended and dated, and a network that starts publishing gets its score updated in the next edition with the change noted.

Methodology

Scoring covers six public pages read on 29 July 2026 and asks a single binary question per column: is this figure stated in writing on the network's own public site? A point is awarded for disclosure, not for the figure being good - a network publishing a $100,000 minimum scores the same as one publishing $100. Sales-call disclosure does not count; the whole premise is what a buyer can learn without talking to anyone. Sample of six, one date, one reader. Treat as directional and check the sources.

Sources

  1. Coinzilla - Advertisersas of 2026-07-29
  2. Coinzilla - Publishersas of 2026-07-29
  3. Bitmediaas of 2026-07-29
  4. Cointrafficas of 2026-07-29
  5. A-ADS (aads.com)as of 2026-07-29
  6. Blockchain-Adsas of 2026-07-29

All posts