On February 11, 2018, the American digital media company Salon made a decision that would send ripples through both the publishing and cryptocurrency worlds: it began offering visitors who used ad-blocking software a choice to either disable their ad blocker or allow the site to harness their computer’s processing power to mine the privacy-focused cryptocurrency Monero. The bold experiment, one of the first of its kind by a major publisher, thrust the concept of browser-based crypto mining into the mainstream spotlight and ignited a fierce debate about the future of online revenue models.
TL;DR
- Salon.com launched an opt-in Monero mining programme on February 11, 2018, targeting ad-blocking users
- The initiative used Coinhive, a browser-based mining service that leveraged visitors’ unused CPU power
- Monero was trading at approximately $229 on the day, down significantly from its January highs
- The move came as Lloyds Banking Group and other UK banks banned credit card crypto purchases
- The experiment raised fundamental questions about consent, security, and alternative monetisation in digital media
The Salon Experiment
Salon, a well-established online publication founded in 1995, had been struggling like many digital media companies with the rise of ad-blocking technology. With an increasing share of its audience blocking advertisements entirely, the site’s advertising revenue was under severe pressure. Rather than implementing hard paywalls or aggressive anti-ad-blocker pop-ups, Salon chose a radically different path.
Visitors to Salon who arrived with an ad blocker enabled were presented with a clear choice: disable the ad blocker to continue viewing content supported by traditional advertising, or allow Salon to use their browser to mine Monero cryptocurrency. The mining would occur only while the user was actively browsing the site, and Salon emphasised that nothing would be installed on the user’s computer and no personal information or files would be accessed.
The technology powering Salon’s experiment was Coinhive, a service that had become both celebrated and notorious in equal measure. Coinhive provided a JavaScript-based miner that could be embedded in websites, using visitors’ CPU resources to solve the cryptographic puzzles required to mine Monero (XMR). On February 11, Monero was trading at approximately $229.49, according to CoinMarketCap data, with a market capitalisation of $3.6 billion and 24-hour trading volume exceeding $51 million.
The Broader Context of Browser Mining
Salon’s initiative did not emerge in a vacuum. The concept of browser-based cryptocurrency mining had been gaining traction since late 2017, when Coinhive first launched its service. However, the technology had already attracted significant controversy. By October 2017, security researchers at Sucuri had identified at least 500 WordPress websites that had been hacked to run Coinhive mining scripts without their owners’ knowledge or visitors’ consent. This illicit use of browser mining — dubbed “cryptojacking” — had become a growing concern across the internet.
What distinguished Salon’s approach from these malicious implementations was its emphasis on transparency and consent. Users were explicitly informed about the mining activity and given a genuine choice to opt out. The site’s FAQ page stated clearly that mining happened only during active browsing sessions and that Salon never had access to personal information or files on users’ computers. Nevertheless, critics argued that the very concept of a website consuming a visitor’s computing resources for financial gain, even with consent, represented a troubling precedent.
Regulatory Clouds Gather
Salon’s experiment unfolded against a backdrop of intensifying regulatory scrutiny of the cryptocurrency sector. Just days earlier, on February 5, Lloyds Banking Group — one of the United Kingdom’s largest financial institutions — had banned its credit card customers from purchasing cryptocurrencies across all of its brands, including Lloyds Bank, Bank of Scotland, Halifax, and MBNA. The bank cited concerns that customers could accumulate unsustainable debt if cryptocurrency prices continued to decline.
The Lloyds ban was part of a broader wave of financial institutions pulling back from crypto. Major banks in the United States, including JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, had also announced restrictions on cryptocurrency credit card purchases around the same time. These institutional moves reflected growing unease about the speculative nature of crypto markets following Bitcoin’s dramatic collapse from its December 2017 all-time high near $19,783 to approximately $8,130 by February 11.
In South Korea, regulators were implementing new rules requiring real-name verification for cryptocurrency trading, effectively ending the era of anonymous crypto exchanges in the country. India’s Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had delivered a statement declaring that cryptocurrencies were not legal tender, sending shockwaves through the market. China had intensified its crackdown on crypto exchanges and initial coin offerings, driving many operations offshore.
The Monero Angle: Privacy in the Spotlight
Salon’s choice of Monero as its mining target was significant. Unlike Bitcoin, which operates on a transparent public ledger where all transactions are visible, Monero was designed from the ground up to provide privacy and anonymity. The cryptocurrency’s privacy features — including ring signatures, stealth addresses, and RingCT (Ring Confidential Transactions) — made it virtually impossible for outside observers to trace transaction amounts, sender addresses, or receiver addresses.
This emphasis on privacy had made Monero popular not only among privacy advocates but also in less savoury contexts. The cryptocurrency had become a favourite on darknet marketplaces and was increasingly associated with ransomware demands. On February 11, 2018, Monero was the 13th largest cryptocurrency by market cap, valued at $229.49 per coin with a circulating supply of approximately 15.7 million XMR. The coin had experienced significant volatility, having traded above $490 in early January before the broader market crash pulled it down by more than 50%.
Industry Reaction and Legacy
The reaction to Salon’s mining experiment was deeply divided. Supporters praised the company for thinking creatively about the sustainability of free, ad-supported media. In an era of declining advertising revenues and proliferating ad blockers, the argument went, publishers needed to explore alternative business models. Salon itself framed the initiative as a continuation of the implicit bargain between publishers and readers: “Back in the 1990s, as now, Salon offered the common relationship of serving ads to our users in exchange for keeping most of our content free.”
Critics, however, raised valid concerns about the energy consumption and potential performance impact on users’ devices. Tests conducted by technology journalists found that Salon’s mining script could consume significant CPU resources, leading to increased battery drain on laptops and potential performance degradation. Others questioned whether users truly understood what they were consenting to, despite the relatively clear disclosure.
Why This Matters
Salon’s browser mining experiment on February 11, 2018, represents a pivotal moment in the ongoing conversation about how digital content is funded. While the experiment itself was short-lived — Salon quietly discontinued the programme within months — it forced the publishing industry, regulators, and cryptocurrency advocates to confront uncomfortable questions about the intersection of user consent, computational resources, and online business models. The episode also highlighted the growing mainstream awareness of cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin, with Monero’s privacy features becoming a topic of discussion far beyond the usual crypto enthusiast circles. In retrospect, Salon’s gambit was ahead of its time: the debate over browser-based mining, alternative revenue models, and the ethics of leveraging user resources would continue to evolve in the years that followed, particularly as the concept of Web3 and decentralised applications gained prominence.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments carry significant risk, and readers should conduct their own research before making investment decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.