EXCLUSIVE: Rumble Burying Channel Subscriptions? Crypto Wallet LIVE! | Indie's Tech Tips
Rumble squeezing creators, leaning Into USDT, BTC and digital money. How long before it's the ONLY option? They claim NEVER, but that remains to be seen.
EXCLUSIVE: Is Rumble Burying Paid Channel Subscriptions?
Back in 2023, video platform Rumble rolled out a simple $5 monthly channel subscription that allowed fans to directly support the creators behind the channels. It was one of the few tools that directly supported creators and not the corporate interests.
Now, Rumble has quietly buried that feature in a blatant attempt to encourage viewers to sign up for their own $10/mo (or $99/year) “Rumble Premium” subscription.
The “subscribe” button for individual creators & channels now only shows up during livestream chats on desktop browser.
But the new premium subscription? Oh, it’s everywhere — complete with no ads, and premium-only, exclusive content. It sounds nice, right? Well, until you realize that most of the creators behind the content get next to nothing, unless they jump through hoops to participate in Rumble’s premium creator program and meet the strict, ever-growing list of requirements. Most people doing the work will get crumbs, meanwhile Rumble -- a company worth $2.36 billion as of December 2025 -- takes off with the rest of the cake.
Monthly Subscriptions - One Piece of a Revenue Pie
Livestreamers rely on a multitude of revenue sources to earn enough to survive, many of which are monetization tools provided by platforms like Rumble and Twitch. Monthly subscriptions, tips & gift subscriptions can add up to a substantial portion of a creator’s monthly revenue, even after the platform takes a substantial cut. Recurring revenue is even more coveted.
Introduced back in 2023, creators were pushing for monthly “subs” as an option for their viewers while Rumble was trying to lure Twitch gamer streamers to move their shows over. The program advertised that 100% of the $5 collected would be passed through to the creator, in stark contrast from the the 50% Rumble takes on all “Rants.” Twitch takes 50% of all creator revenue collected.
Sometime in 2024, Rumble quietly changed the 100% pass-through policy and started taking a small percentage of monthly subscription revenue, but still passed on like 97% of the revenue to creators through desktop, while passing on the 30% cost to the app store via the app.
At this point, it appears that while using their app, or whenever a channel is NOT live (or scheduled to go live), you can only:
PURCHASE a 1-time “Rumble Rant” in denominations of $1, $2, $5, $10, $25, $50, $75, $100, $250 & $500 (where Rumble takes 50% commission off the top)
a Rumble Rant can be up to USD$500 but is simply a chat comment that stays pinned at the top of chat GIFT a 30-day channel subscription (as many as up to 50 at once) to a random viewer for $5/ea. ($250 for 50 subscriptions). Rumble’s competitors Twitch and Kick offer similar Gift Subscriptions. Not confirmed, but Rumble allegedly takes 30% of Subscription revenue.
What’s Going On Here? Why Is This Happening?
I also noticed that the Subscribe button has been removed from the Creator’s pages too, so now people who want to subscribe HAVE to do it from a live chat on desktop browser, it appears.
Rumble is frequently pushing non-premium subscribers to subscribe to their PLATFORM-WIDE premium $10/mo or $99/year monthly subscription that would eliminate ads entirely, plus give paid subscribers access to Premium-Only content. Creators have sole discretion over which content is paywalled, if any.
Conveniently for Rumble, the creators get none of the platform-wide subscription fee, unless they jump through hoops to participate in Rumble’s premium creator program AND have enough watch hours, subscriber growth and meet other requirements (almost NO creators I know in the news/podcast space do this).
Rumble’s logic is that for the same $10/mo I am paying to support those channels, they would prefer I pay THEM the $10 for no ads on ALL channels (but the 2 channels I am supporting would get NONE of that $10).
Rumble will claim that they provide multiple other avenues of monetization for creators, like product ad reads via their network, but none of these other methods enable a fan to directly support specific channels on an ongoing basis.
I actually am still subscribed to a couple channels. My chats on those channels are highlighted and I don’t see ads when watching on those two channels.
Please answer in the comments:
Have you used the Rumble channel subscription feature?
Thoughts on Rumble burying the one monetization effort that passes almost all of the revenue to the creator?
Are you a Rumble Premium (platform) subscriber (monthly or annually)?
Were you aware of Rumble gift channel subscriptions?
If so, have you ever purchased one or received one?
I am more of an advocate for separating creator revenue from the platforms entirely, and having viewers and fans tip using a completely separate method. They make plenty off ad revenue. Tools like Ko-fi, BuyMeACoffee, Ca$happ, Paypal, Stream Elements and direct donate links keep the platforms hands out of creators’ pockets.
Rumble Wallet LIVE, Livestream Tips Get Crypto Option
Rumble has also been focused on developing and supporting a crypto wallet where they will offer to deliver Rumble revenue in USDT (Tether) or BTC (Bitcoin).
Remember that Tether invested $775M in Rumble a year ago over 5 years, as reported on How Did We Miss That in January 2025.
Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski laid out his vision for creators being tipped in crypto back in September after Rumble invested millions in 2025 developing an app-based crypto Wallet.
https://x.com/chrispavlovski/status/1963265918961938697?s=20
Chris Pavlovski 🏴☠️@chrispavlovskiRumble will be the best place for creators to generate revenue on their content. Enabled by tips (cash, $btc, $usdt), subs, programmatic ads, and live sponsorship reads. No platform has this comprehensive strategy.3:40 PM · Sep 3, 2025 · 24K Views72 Replies · 98 Reposts · 689 Likes
In November, Tether announced that they had signed another $100M advertising commitment agreement with Rumble.
Rumble has also been investing in Bitcoin, as reported in a prior Indie’s Tech Tips article.
In November, Pavlovski tweeted about creators now with the ability to get tips in crypto on their livestreams, delivered directly to their Rumble Wallet app.
https://x.com/chrispavlovski/status/1991883819214139569?s=20
Chris Pavlovski 🏴☠️@chrispavlovskiIt’s happening… tips in $BTC $XAUT and $USDT on Rumble. Testing is only open to Android users and only for a few thousand people. Rumble Wallet is alive.
2:58 PM · Nov 21, 2025 · 203K Views62 Replies · 87 Reposts · 549 Likes
What are your thoughts on Rumble, Tether, Rumble Wallet, tipping in crypto and the direction this all appears to be going? Comment below and/or re-stack with a note…
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U know... if they can squeeze... they will... Thx Capitalism...
I appreciate your sounding off about Rumble's evolving policies, Indie. I understand your promoting the use of applications like Ko-fi, BuyMeACoffee, Ca$happ, Paypal, Stream Elements, and direct donate links. My preference is to support media hosts via one application. That means sharing my personal data with a single entity. Currently, I use Patreon for that purpose because at one time it seemed to be the most comprehensive platform to support independent creators. That has changed over time as political censorship has become an enforcement tool. I support channels like the Electronic Intifada directly through their websites because Patreon dropped them a few years ago. I recognize that site maintenance can create a burden for the media creator and most of the creators I follow and would support lack websites. I dislike spreading my personal and financial info across multiple payment platforms/organizations. Yes, I understand I do it when I use my charge card shopping in stores. However, right or wrong, I feel a greater security threat using the payment applications you cite. Frankly, I am hesitant to pay a subscription on Substack due to the pricing structure. I think the starting tier (typically $6/month) is too expensive. In my situation I find it a challenge to spread my support around at $6 monthly level. I find Patreon more sustainable; its $1- $2 tiers allow me to provide monthly support to multiple creators. I never pay through the streaming application platform (e.g., Rumble, YouTube). Some background: I have been the victim of digital theft to the tune of several thousand dollars in the past. It is gut wrenching. I try my best to limit my exposure. I feel like all these platforms (excluding the streamer) are out to rip me off for a piece of the action. Thanks for reading this.