I decided to create my own little series and post some very useful information for everyone regarding my favorite projects. Starting with BAT & Brave, I have answered some of the internet's most asked questions. If you like what you see, expect some more information about my other favorite projects very soon.
1. What is Basic Attention Token (BAT)?
BAT stands for Basic Attention Token and it is a digital token used as a unit of account of human attention in Brave browser. In other words, users and content creators are getting paid for their attention in BAT tokens whilst advertisers use it to pay for their ads being displayed in Brave’s network. The project is led by ex-Mozilla Firefox co-founder - Brendan Eich.
BAT is designed to be the cryptocurrency to revolutionize the digital advertising industry by bringing advertisers, content creators, and viewers together on one single platform. This creates a system in which an advertising exchange marketplace is established in which only user attention is directly monetized by advertisers. The result of this is a significantly more efficient digital advertising platform in which the Basic Attention Token can be used to obtain a variety of advertising and attention-based services.
The entire ethos of the project is to fairly reward users, content creators as well as giving advertisers a better ROI for their marketing activities. Content creators have the option to be rewarded in BAT by their supporters on a regular monthly basis. They are also able to upload their content on typical Social Media Platforms such as YouTube and still receive tips from users without having to give a percentage to the ‘middleman’. Furthermore, viewers are also able to be rewarded in BAT each month after viewing the advertisements that the Brave Advertisement network pushes to their browser.
The Basic Attention Token is built on top of the Ethereum blockchain as an ERC-20 token.
2. How many basic attention tokens are out there?
According to CoinMarketCap data, there are currently around 1.415 billion Basic Attention Tokens (BAT) in circulation. However, in total, there was 1.5 billion BAT created and this will be the absolute maximum.
Initially, 1 billion Basic Attention Tokens (BAT) were sold in their sale that generated over 150,000 Ethereum equating to a staggering $35 million. The team then went on to create a 200 million BAT Development Pool that is locked away only to be used to further the BAT ecosystem. Furthermore, the team also created an extra 300 million BAT to be used in their User Growth Pool. The 300 million BAT from the User Growth Pool is intended to incentivize users to join the BAT network.
Unlike other cryptocurrencies, Basic Attention Token (BAT) cannot be mined and the entire circulation was already created at launch.
3. Is Basic Attention token an ERC-20?
Yes, Basic Attention Token (BAT) is an ERC-20 token that is created on top of the Ethereum blockchain. This means that you can actually store your BAT in any ERC-20 compatible wallet which gives users a wide range of different wallets to choose from.
The fact that it is an ERC-20 token also brings many advantages to the Basic Attention Token (BAT). Firstly, BAT can easily be traded with any other ERC-20 token as they adhere to the same technical standards because a list of mandatory rules must be strictly followed to create the ERC-20 token. Secondly, as it is run on the Ethereum blockchain, BAT also inherits all of the security and performance features that Ethereum provides - especially when ETH turns into a PoS coin at some point during 2020. If BAT was to decide to migrate to their own blockchain, they would face potential attack vectors in which one entity could control the entire market as the network would be very small. This is something that would be detrimental to the project.
In addition to all of this, the fact that it is an ERC-20 token means that “smart contracts” can easily be built and executed using the Basic Attention Token if need be.
4. What Can I use Basic Attention Token For?
Basic Attention Token (BAT) is primarily to be used as a means of value transfer on the Brave Browser and can be utilized for a range of services including;
- Tip Creators on Twitter, Youtube, and Twitch.
- Run an advertising campaign on Brave.
- Donate to creators on a regular monthly basis.
- Buy future services such as a decentralized VPN on the Brave browser.
Advertisers can use their Basic Attention Tokens (BAT) to deliver advertisements and run an advertising campaign to the Brave community. In doing so, the advertiser receives a wide range of anonymous data and analytics on the attention placed on their advertisements.
Users can utilize their BAT to donate directly to their favorite content produces - whether it be on YouTube, Twitter, or Twitch. If you like the contribution (comments) from other members within the community, you can also reward them in BAT. Additionally, users can reward their favorite Brave publishers with a monthly contribution in BAT, meaning they will automatically donate BAT to their specific Brave publisher (content producer) automatically every month.
Furthermore, users of the Brave browser will also be able to spend their BAT on future services provided by Brave. An example of this could be the upcoming decentralized VPN network, known as VPN-0, that Brave will integrate into their browser.
5. What is the difference between Basic Attention Token (BAT) and Brave?
Basic Attention Token (BAT) is a cryptocurrency whereas Brave is a privacy-preserving internet web browser. The entire Brave Project encompasses the Basic Attention Token (BAT), an advertising exchange, and an extremely fast privacy-preserving browser. BAT is the token that is used to provide a means of value transfer between advertisers, content publishers, and users on the Brave project.
The entire idea of the Brave Browser is to shake up the entire digital advertising industry that is currently dominated by tech giants such as YouTube and Facebook. They have provided a privacy-focused web browser, known as the Brave browser, that does not collect any sensitive or private information regarding its users. Furthermore, the Brave browser has been proven to be much quicker than rival browsers such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.
The Brave project achieves this very quick browsing speed as it blocks all outside advertisements and 3rd-party trackers by default. This means that less time is spent loading the data for advertising saving you bandwidth and time. The only advertising on Brave is the advertisements that the team verifies and allows to be pushed to their users via the Brave Advertising Network, in which they are rewarded BAT for their attention.
6. How do you get BAT rewards in the Brave browser?
There are a variety of methods in which users can get BAT rewards in the Brave browser. The most prominent method is to activate “Brave Rewards” in the Brave browser settings and receive BAT for viewing advertisements. Each time a user views an advertisement they will be rewarded in BAT which will be paid to the user’s wallet in the Brave Rewards section on the browser. This reward can be claimed every month on the date of the next payment as dictated by Brave.
Another method to receive BAT rewards is to contribute to the comments section for verified Brave publishers. If other Brave users agree that you are contributing to the topic at hand, they will be compelled to reward you in BAT.
The last method to receive rewards in the Brave browser is to become a verified content producer. If you have a particular skill or extensive knowledge on a particular topic, you can create blog posts or video posts to showcase your knowledge and be rewarded in BAT from your community if they like your content. Furthermore, if users really love your content, they may decide to automatically donate to your content on a monthly basis.
7. Where to buy Basic Attention Token?
Basic Attention Token (BAT) can be bought on a variety of the top cryptocurrency exchanges as it is a very popular coin. You can buy BAT with cryptocurrency or fiat at the following top exchanges. In most cases, you will have to top your account up with FIAT, buy Bitcoin/Ethereum, and then use the BTC/ETH to buy BAT;
- Binance - BTC, ETH, USDt, BNB, USD (Fiat - Binance US only).
- Coinbase Pro - ETH, USDC
- BitFinex - BTC, ETH, USD (Fiat)
- Kraken - BTC, ETH, EUR, USD (Fiat)
- CoinBene - BTC
- IDCM - BTC
- BitTrex - BTC, ETH, USDt, USD (Fiat)
- Coinone - KRW (Fiat)
- BitMart - BTC, ETH, USDt
- HCoin - USDt
- Exrates - USD (Fiat)
- CoinField - USD (Fiat)
- OkCoin - USD (Fiat)
- Changelly - Convert Crypto to BAT
8. Can You Mine Basic Attention Token?
No, Basic Attention Token (BAT) cannot be mined like Bitcoin or Ethereum. Instead, the creators of BAT decided to do a sale in which 1 billion BAT were sold, raising a total of 150,000 ETH. The team then created a further 500 million BAT tokens for development and user growth. This total supply of 1.5 billion Basic Attention Tokens will be the absolute maximum supply for the BAT economy and no more tokens will be created or mined.
The fact that Brave elected to do an ICO in which all of the supply was released creates an ecosystem that cannot be dominated by one mining entity. Instead, users, advertisers, and publishers will have to get their Basic Attention Tokens the same way as everybody else - by buying them on an exchange. Furthermore, as we know that the majority of the supply is already in circulation, this creates an environment in which an additional token influx cannot affect the price. This should create a more stable and confident trading environment for all BAT holders.
9. Who created the basic attention token (BAT)?
Basic Attention Token was created by a company called Brave Software which is spearheaded by Brendan Eich. Eich created Brave Software in 2015 with co-founder Brian Bondy and they went on to release BAT through an ICO in May 2017.
Brendan Eich is a very respected programmer and has many accolades on his resume which includes being the creator of the well-known programming language JavaScript which went on to become the standard software of the web. This is very apparent considering the fact that there are now over 1.6 billion websites that have been created with JavaScript. Furthermore, Brendan Eich is also the co-founder of the Mozilla Foundation which went on to release the highly popular Mozilla Firefox Browser which shows that Eich has more than the required expertise to carry forward the Brave project.
Eich grew up in Pittsburgh and studied mathematics and computer science at Santa Clara University. He went on to receive a master’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Upon leaving his studies, Eich began to work at Silicon Graphics in which he worked on OS and network code. He went on to work for Netscape in 1995 to work on their web-browser before co-founding Mozilla in 1998. Eich resigned as the CEO of Mozilla in 2014 and then went on to co-found Brave Software.
10. Is Basic attention token a security?
According to Brave, the Basic Attention Token (BAT) is not to be considered as a security as it is viewed as a utility token based on the Ethereum technology and is not classed as a security, digital currency, or commodity. Furthermore, considering that William Hinman, an SEC official, stated that he does not believe Ethereum is a security adds to the fact that BAT would also not be considered as one.
The Brave team completely believe that Basic Attention Token is fully legally compliant and not a security. Before launching, the team was very clear in laying out the groundwork for BAT as a utility token by taking up counsel with the international law firm Perkins-Coie. Together, they clearly laid out their strategy to make sure BAT would never be deemed as a security token.
However, the regulation is still unclear and we will need to wait for some official guidance from the SEC to fully be confident that BAT will not be considered as a security down the road.
11. What Notable Partnerships do Basic Attention Token & Brave have?
Basic Attention Token (BAT) and Brave Software have a wide variety of partnerships that include very well known enterprises as well as the 370,000 verified publishers that they are partnered with on Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, and Twitch. Some of the most notable partnerships include;
- Dow Jones Media Group - Partnered in 2018
- DuckDuckGo - Partnered in 2017
- Coinbase Earn - Partnered in 2019
- Qwant - Partnered in 2018
- CIVIC - Partnered in 2018
- Everpedia - Partnered in 2019
This is an extremely expansive list of high-profile partnerships that are designed to take the entire Brave project further. The partnership with Dow Jones Media Group was created to offer premium content to users and test blockchain-based payment technology. Brave partnered with DuckDuck Go to improve privacy on the web. The DuckDuckGo search engine has been integrated into the Brave browser’s private tabs. The Qwant partnership was also established to use Qwant as the default search engine for users in France and Germany.
The partnership with Coinbase Earn was to make BAT easier to use and understand. Users are able to earn up to $14 by taking part in the short tutorials that Coinbase put together. Everpedia teamed up with Brave which allowed it to be featured on the Everpedia Homepage. Furthermore, Everpedia advertisements are also featured in the Brave browser.
The final partnership to highlight is with CIVIC who joined forces with Brave to provide secure identity verification services on the Brave Publisher platform.
12. Does Basic Attention Token Have an Explorer?
Yes, Basic Attention Token (BAT) does have an explorer. As Basic Attention Token (BAT) is built on top of the Ethereum network, you can explore their blockchain on Etherscan. Etherscan provides block explorers for all of their ERC-20 tokens. You can use the block explorer to look-up detailed information about any Basic Attention Token (BAT) transaction, address, and block.
13. Does Brave browser have a VPN?
As of early 2020, the Brave browser VPN is still in development. The Brave team is working on a distributed virtual private network (dVPN) which is a VPN with no central authority. Typically, dVPNs designs fail to provide any strong privacy guarantees and users can even be abused by unknowingly transmitting illegal or harmful network traffic. Brave is working on VPN⁰ which integrates a system for dVPN nodes to be able to decide what type of traffic they want to transmit. This means that if the node operator only wanted to transmit data from news websites they would be able to select this and only news articles would pass through their node.
Most importantly, VPN⁰ nodes are able to control which traffic they transmit without learning what content it contains by utilizing zero-knowledge proofs. This guarantees privacy for the users of the dVPN whilst ensuring that nodes will not be abused by relaying potentially harmful traffic.
VPN⁰ has been integrated with BitTorrent DHT and ProtonVPN for benchmarking its performance. The initial results prove the feasibility of the system but the zero-knowledge calculations still need to be sped up.
14. How do I enable Brave ads?
Brave Ads are disabled by default but enabling Brave Ads is very simple;
- Open Brave Browser and hit the main menu icon () in the top right corner.
- Select the Brave Rewards menu item.
- Enable “Brave Rewards” at the top of the page.
- Enable “Ads” directly beneath this.
- Brave Adverts are now enabled.
After enabling Brave advertisements you will have to wait for an advertisement to pushed and it is usually just a matter of time as the machine learning algorithm will figure out the best time to display ads to you. Furthermore, the user will also have to be in an eligible Brave Ads region. It will appear in the top right-hand corner of your screen (Mac OS) or bottom right-hand corner (Windows OS) as a desktop notification pop-up. You simply have to click the advertisement to view it and be rewarded in BAT.
15. How to disable Brave ads?
Brave Ads are disabled by default but if you have them enabled simply follow these steps to disable them again;
- Open Brave Browser and hit the main menu icon () in the top right corner.
- Select the Brave Rewards menu item.
- Enable “Brave Rewards” at the top of the page.
- Disable “Ads” directly beneath this.
- Brave Adverts are now disabled and you will no longer receive any advertisement notifications from Brave.
16. Where are Brave ads being displayed?
Brave advertisements are displayed in different locations depending on your Operating System. For Windows users, the advertisement notification will appear as a desktop notification in the bottom right-hand corner of your desktop, right by your system tray.
For MacOS users, the advertisement notification will appear in the top right-hand corner of your screen as a desktop notification.
For mobile users, the advertisement notifications will usually pop-up in the notification area of your mobile phone;
Advert notifications only appear when the machine learning algorithm for the Brave Advertising network deems it best to push an advertisement. The number of advertisement notifications per day varies depending on the day but we can estimate between 8-12 advertisement notifications per day. Furthermore, there is actually a hard-cap of advertisements a user can click per day and after they reach this the browser will not display any more advertisements. Furthermore, another reason you may not be seeing advertisements is that there are no relevant advertisements based on your browsing history. This is fine, you just need to browse a little more and some will appear.
17. Is Basic Attention Token necessary to use Brave?
No, Basic Attention Token (BAT) is not necessary to use Brave. In fact, you can take advantage of the privacy-preserving web browser without ever owning any Basic Attention Tokens. However, every Brave browser does indeed come with its own integrate Basic Attention Token wallet which simply needs to be enabled in the “Brave Rewards” section.
Utilizing BAT within the Brave browser does provide a complete experience as you will be able to tip your favorite content producers simply by using the tipping tool. Furthermore, you will also be able to pay for any upcoming services that Brave Software release such as their upcoming decentralized VPN.
If you enable Brave Ads, you will receive desktop notifications anytime there is an advertisement available for you in which you will earn BAT each time you click the advertisement. These Basic Attention Tokens can be claimed each month on the payout date in the Brave Rewards section.
18. How is brave different from chrome?
Brave and Google Chrome are very similar web browsers as they are both built on the Chromium framework. However, the Brave browser is natively privacy-preserving as it blocks all trackers and advertisements, and it is up to eight times faster.
First of all, the Brave browser is a privacy-preserving browser. This means that Brave automatically disables all digital advertisements, banners, and videos by default - you don’t even need to add an extension such as AdBlock. Furthermore, the Brave browser also disables all third-party trackers and bots which means that you will not be tracked anytime you jump from website to website. The blocking of advertisements and tackers also leads to the fact that you save time and bandwidth as the web browser does not need to load these advertisements. Google Chrome has none of these features inherently and extension must be installed to achieve a similar level of privacy.
Secondly, the Brave browser is actually much faster than Google Chrome. As it does not need to load the advertisement data, the webpages load at a quicker speed as less content is needed to be downloaded each time. According to Brave, their browser can be up to eight times faster at loading webpages than its competitor Google Chrome.
19. How much BAT can you earn with Brave?
The Brave team has estimated that users could earn up to $224 in Basic Attention Token (BAT) by viewing their advertisements in 2020. This is up by $154 from the previous years earning potential which peaked at the $70 mark in BAT throughout 2019. To earn this amount, we can assume that Brave users will have to click every single advertisement that is pushed to them and hit their ‘hard-cap’ each day.
For every advertisement that is viewed, the Brave team has stated that 70% of the advertising revenue is given directly back to the viewers. This creates a system in which users are paid for their attention rather than users having to pay to browse in traditional browsers as in these legacy systems they pay with their time and bandwidth to load and view the advertisements.
Technically, there is no limit to how much BAT you can earn with Brave if you are a verified publisher who produces content that people wish to see. There is no limit to the amount of tips content producers can receive and if they have an audience that is loyal, they should see their earning stack up over time in BAT tips.
20. How does Brave collect my data?
Brave collects user data in a very specific privacy-preserving manner that ensures your data is not being sold to any third party. The most important thing to remember is that your personal data is only stored on your own personal machine and will NEVER leave the host device. Contrary to other browsers, Brave does not store any of your personal data about browsing habits on any of their servers.
Typically, web browsers such as Google Chrome will make a series of calls to an ad server that includes information about you and your browsing behavior which is then sold on to third-parties that will use this data to profile users and target them with advertisements. Brave tackles this problem by never letting user data leak from the device to any cloud server. Instead, Brave’s ad server will send the entire Ads Catalog to all of their users that have enabled Brave Rewards. The Brave Browser will then use local machine learning to determine which advertisement to show to you based on your browsing habits that are secure on your own device. The machine learning algorithm will also determine the best time to show you the advertisement.
21. In what countries are Brave Ads available?
Currently, Brave Ads are available in 30 countries around the world, however, the team are continuously expanding the regions in which they operate. According to the team, their business development plan dictates that they must abide by the laws within each individual region. The regions where Brave Ads are active include;
- United States
- United Kingdom
- Canada
- France
- Germany
- Australia
- Ireland
- New Zealand
- Argentina
- Austria
- Brazil
- Switzerland
- Chile
- Colombia
- Denmark
- Ecuador
- Israel
- India
- Italy
- Japan
- Korea
- Mexico
- Netherlands
- Peru
- Philippines
- Poland
- Sweden
- Singapore
- Venezuela
- South Africa
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