Editorial Policy & Independence
How ChainChoice maintains editorial integrity while generating sustainable revenue.
Effective: January 2024 · Last reviewed: April 2026
Revenue Model
ChainChoice earns revenue through affiliate partnerships. When a user clicks a recommendation link and signs up with a provider, ChainChoice may receive a commission. This model keeps all research, tools, and recommendations free to access.
Compensation does not influence rankings, scores, or recommendations. The scoring methodology produces results algorithmically before any editorial review is applied.
Affiliate relationships are disclosed on every page that contains referral links. Transparency is not optional — it is a core operating principle.
Many products in the catalog have no affiliate relationship with ChainChoice. They appear in results on merit alone. Absence of a commercial partnership never excludes a provider from coverage.
Editorial Independence
Editorial review operates independently from any commercial layer. Revenue considerations do not enter the editorial process at any stage — from research through scoring to publication.
Providers cannot pay for higher rankings or favorable reviews. No amount of sponsorship, advertising spend, or partnership agreement alters a provider's score.
The methodology is quantitative and produces results before any editorial layer is applied. Scores are computed from verifiable data points — fees, features, security posture, regulatory standing — weighted according to published criteria.
All scoring weights, dimensions, and criteria are published on the methodology page. Anyone can audit how a provider's score is calculated and verify the inputs.
Review Standards
Every provider review follows a structured template across five dimensions: fees and costs, security and custody, user experience, asset coverage, and regulatory compliance. This structure ensures consistency and prevents subjective bias from driving conclusions.
Reviews include a "Better alternative if…" section that honestly routes users away when another product is a stronger fit for specific needs. The best recommendation is the right one, even when that routes a user to a competitor.
Reviews include a "Verification note" describing what a user should independently check before signing up — such as confirming current fee schedules, verifying regional availability, or reviewing the provider's latest security audit.
All reviews carry a last-verified date. Stale reviews are flagged automatically and re-evaluated on a rolling basis. Outdated information is not published knowingly.
Factual Accuracy
Fee data is verified against official provider fee schedules — cross-referenced against published pricing pages, API documentation, and direct provider communications.
Yield and APR data is sourced from DeFi Llama and verified against individual protocol dashboards. Because DeFi rates change frequently, yield figures are presented as ranges with clear timestamps.
Market data is sourced from CoinGecko with real-time updates. Price information displayed alongside recommendations reflects live conditions to help users make timely decisions.
If you find an error, send a correction. Corrections are issued within 24 hours of verification. Accuracy is a commitment, not a goal.
Conflict of Interest Management
If a provider offers an affiliate partnership, it does not change their score. The editorial evaluation is complete before any commercial relationship is considered. Scores are locked at the point of publication and only change when underlying data changes.
New affiliate relationships are evaluated for product quality before acceptance. Partnerships with providers that do not meet editorial standards are declined, regardless of the commission offered.
Products with no commercial relationship to ChainChoice are regularly featured and recommended. Editorial merit is the only criterion for inclusion in coverage.
User Data & Privacy
Quiz results and preferences are stored locally in your browser. ChainChoice does not build advertising profiles. ChainChoice does not sell user data.
Granting analytics consent triggers a first-party cookie (cc_anon_id) containing a random identifier with a rolling 30-day lifetime. It lets the AI assistant remember facts stated earlier in the same session — region, assets of interest, constraints — so turn two builds on turn one without forcing a sign-in. The identifier is never shared with third parties; the matching server record is deleted after 30 days of inactivity, and signing in folds anonymous facts into the user account, then clears the cookie. Declining analytics consent prevents the cookie, prevents the server record, and the assistant treats every turn as a fresh session.
User data is never sold. This is not a qualified statement. Under no circumstances is personally identifiable information shared with third parties for commercial purposes.
Analytics improve recommendation accuracy, not ad targeting. Aggregate, anonymized usage patterns inform which evaluation criteria matter most to users, refining the methodology over time.
Contact & Corrections
Found something wrong? Email corrections@chainchoice.io. Every correction report is read; factual corrections are prioritized above all other editorial work.
Corrections are issued within 24 hours of verification. When a correction is made, the original claim and the updated information are both noted for transparency.
This policy applies to all content published on ChainChoice, including provider reviews, comparison pages, quiz recommendations, and editorial guides. Reviewed quarterly and updated as practices evolve.