Advertising must evolve from a one-way onslaught to a two-way negotiation. This is a radical shift that has been brewing for some time, driven by technological evolution and growing consumer rejection of intrusive advertising. Web3 could be the catalyst that makes it a reality.
Currently, advertising works like a broadcast tower: brands interrupt with their messages on television, social media, or banners, and consumers have only two options: endure it or ignore it. It is a passive model for users and highly centralized, dominated by the companies that control the platforms. Google and Meta, for example, manage 50% of the global digital advertising market, generating around $300 billion annually. They decide what you see based on the data they collect, with little input from you. However, this system is beginning to crack—42% of internet users use ad blockers, and trust in big tech companies is plummeting.
Now, imagine a Web3 world where intrusive advertising turns into a negotiation.
Thanks to blockchain technology, your personal data—what you buy, what you search for, what you like—would no longer be stored on a company’s servers but in a digital wallet that only you control. Brands would no longer be able to simply “push” an ad at you because they wouldn’t have automatic access to your profile. Instead, they would have to negotiate with you. How? They could offer you something in exchange for your attention: cryptocurrency, tokens, discounts, access to exclusive content… You would decide whether to accept the offer or not.
For example, a clothing brand might propose: “Watch this 30-second video about our new collection, and we’ll give you 5 tokens to use in our store.” Or a pharmaceutical company could compensate you for sharing anonymous health data for its personalized medicine research.
This is not a far-fetched theory. Brave browser, which uses the BAT (Basic Attention Token), already pays users to watch optional ads. Since its launch in 2017, it has attracted more than 60 million users, and advertisers have spent millions in BAT. It is still small compared to the vast global advertising market, but it proves that the concept works.
In a more developed Web3 ecosystem, this dynamic could scale. You could configure your wallet to filter what types of ads you want to see and how much you are willing to charge for your time. Brands, in turn, would have to compete not only for your attention but also for your approval.
The key shift is active consent. Today, you implicitly (or forcibly) give permission by accepting cookies or endless terms of service. In this new model, consent would be explicit and transactional—each advertising interaction would function as a micro-contract. Smart contracts on blockchain could automate it: “If you watch this ad, you receive this reward.” This not only empowers consumers but also forces brands to be more creative and relevant. If they ask for too much or bore you, you simply say no.
What are the challenges? First, the transition: most people are not yet familiar with managing wallets or handling tokens, so the learning curve is steep. Second, resistance from brands, which would lose some of the control they currently have. And third, the potential emergence of new intermediaries—agencies or platforms managing these negotiations—that could recreate the centralized dynamics that already exist.
If these obstacles are overcome, the result would be less intrusive and more valuable advertising for everyone. Consumers would gain something tangible, and brands would reach an audience that genuinely wants to engage with them. Ultimately, advertising as a negotiation means that your attention is no longer a resource being extracted from you but an asset that you choose to sell. It is an attention marketplace where you set the price.
The question is not whether this change will happen, but when and who will be ready to adapt.
By Ángel González
Ideagoras
