Code of Ethics

Staff may hold bitcoin and use the products we review — in fact we require it for reviewers. Staff may not trade any asset covered by a story they're actively reporting in the 5 days before or after publication, and may not take a short-term trading position based on unpublished information they encountered through their work here.

Reviewers may accept loaner hardware and review-unit access needed to do a review — it is disclosed on the review and returned or, if the company insists we keep it, disclosed as kept. Staff may not accept cash payments, gifts of material value, travel, or hospitality from any company we cover or could plausibly cover.

Sales and editorial are organizationally separate. No editorial staff member negotiates or is aware of the commercial terms of an affiliate relationship before writing about that company. Sponsored content is written or reviewed by editorial for factual accuracy but is produced by a separate team and always carries a "Sponsored" label — it is never mixed into unlabeled news or review coverage.

Staff disclose to the Editor-in-Chief any outside employment, consulting, equity, or advisory role with a company we might cover. Where a conflict exists, that staffer does not write about, edit, or score that company — the assignment goes to someone else, and the reassignment itself is not something we hide if asked.

Violations of this code are grounds for retraction, published correction, and termination, regardless of tenure or title. Report a suspected violation — including one involving the Editor-in-Chief — to [email protected]; reports are reviewed by someone outside the reporting chain of the person named.

RELATED POLICIES

Editorial Standards → Corrections Policy → Affiliate Disclosure →

Report a concern

Reviewed outside the reporting chain involved.