I had the same issue and the uMatrix solution solved it. I'm guessing that a change to the caching system was made so it now checks the referer header (to prevent what? bot leechers are not exactly going to be hindered for long).
Cryptocurrency and server donations are way too much hassle. I wouldn't mind ads, though I personally would not be subject to them, since the internet without an adblocker in general is insufferable.
So I voted for affiliations, though I have no idea if that could even work.