Bluesky Plans to Add Payments as It Builds a Business Model Without Advertising
In coming months, Bluesky plans payments to formalize selling, fundraising and peer support already happening on its decentralized network. CEO Toni Schneider and COO Rose Wang say its Public Benefit Corporation can grow without relying on ads.
Bluesky announced in October 2026 that it plans to introduce payments to its platform in the coming months, marking its first concrete step toward generating revenue without relying on advertising. CEO Toni Schneider and COO Rose Wang outlined the plans on Thursday at TechCrunch Disrupt.
The company wants to formalize commerce and fundraising activity that is already taking place on its decentralized social network. “People are actually selling things, fundraising very successfully, supporting each other on the network,” Schneider said. “We want to make that easier, and the way we’re going to do this is if you see something on the network that you like and support, you can support that monetarily.”
Schneider, the former CEO of Automattic, took over from longtime CEO Jay Graber in March 2026. He acknowledged that some users responded to his appointment with concerns that it signaled unwanted changes ahead. He said the reality that users can leave Bluesky for another platform keeps the leadership team accountable as it moves toward monetization.
Wang pushed back on the idea that advertising is the only viable path for a social network. She pointed to Schneider’s track record at Automattic, which she described as a $10 billion business built without an ad-dependent model. She also cited Bluesky’s status as a Public Benefit Corporation, which she said places the company’s mission at the center of its business decisions.
“The people who are creating value on the networks these days are the ones who are getting the value that is coming in,” Wang said, framing the current state of social media as a system where a small number of platform owners capture most of the revenue generated by users.
Wang said payments are just the starting point. “First, we’ll start with payments, but I think it’s about disrupting the actual infrastructure layer, which is what we’re doing, and not just building another app,” she said. Bluesky’s stated goal is to give users ownership of their digital identities and allow revenue to flow directly to those who generate it across the broader network.