Basic Attention Token (BAT) is a cryptocurrency used for the Brave Browser, an equitable internet browser designed to change the internet’s advertising model by creating more equity between consumers, creators and advertisers.
A common business model for internet companies involves the monetization of user data via advertising and relies on users’ lack of control over their digital identities and personal data. Brave Browser and the Basic Attention Token (BAT) were created to change this model.
Brave Browser provides users with a more transparent and democratized way of surfing the web, while Basic Attention Token is built to change how advertising works online.
Instead of Big Tech companies collecting and monetizing user data, BAT and Brave work together to create a value system based on online attention where users can choose which, or how many, ads they wish to see, and receive BAT rewards in exchange for viewing ad content. In return, advertisers are assured that their content is being viewed by a willing audience, and publishers are incentivized to deliver high-quality ads that can draw in more consumers.
History of Brave and Basic Attention Token
Brave Software, Inc., the parent entity behind Basic Attention Token and Brave Browser, was founded in May 2015 by Brendan Eich and Brian Bondy. In 1995, Eich created the JavaScript programming language and co-founded Mozilla, the company that launched the Mozilla Firefox browser in 2004. Bondy is the current CTO of both Brave and Basic Attention Token and previously worked as a software engineer at Khan Academy, Mozilla and Evernote.
In May of 2017, BAT conducted an initial coin offering (ICO) where 1 billion BAT were sold to investors at a ratio of 6,400 BAT per 1 ether (ETH). The ICO received a total of 156,250 ETH tokens worth $35 million at the time.
Diving Deeper into Brave and BAT
Basic Attention Token is built to operate on the Ethereum and Solana blockchains and is central to the revenue share model of Brave.
Publishers produce content, and readers choose which ads they wish to see via an in-browser pop-up notification mechanism that allows users to opt out of specific ads at their discretion. When browsing, viewers also choose their own ad notification frequency (between 0 and 10 ads per hour) and receive BAT token rewards proportional to the number of ads they view per hour.
Advertisers create ads — which are paid for in BAT via the verified creator network — that are targeted towards users they believe value their products and services. In this system, 30% of rewards are distributed to advertisers and publishers to help them maintain their services, while 70% is distributed to users.
Brave Browser: A privacy-focused and secure internet browser
Brave Browser is an internet browser that uses much of the same open-source code Google Chrome is based on. Unlike most internet browsers such as Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Google Chrome, and Safari, Brave is designed to preserve user privacy, security, and data integrity.
Some of Brave’s most important features include a built-in privacy shield for web browsing and a specialized tracking system that allows users to keep track of the time they spend on ads and websites.
Basic Attention Token and Brave Browser also provide several additional services, including:
- Brave Search – a search engine designed to be a decentralized Web3 alternative to Google, Bing, and others.
- Brave Wallet – an in-browser crypto wallet that allows users to access and manage thousands of crypto assets via their computer or mobile device. The wallet allows users to also access features like crypto swaps, crypto credit and debit card purchases, and multi-chain non-fungible token (NFT) support.
- Brave Firewall and VPN – a virtual private network (VPN) and firewall that allows users to encrypt and secure their data on all apps and devices.
Brave also offers other services like Brave Talk (free video calling), Brave News, Brave Playlist, and several additional products and services.
How does BAT work?
Users can either sell their BAT for cash, hold it, or use the tokens to reward their favorite content creators.
The BAT coin is also used to help facilitate BAT’s decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem using the Brave Wallet.
Tokenomics
BAT has a total supply of 1.5 billion tokens. Of these, 66.6% of BAT were sold to investors in May of 2017, 13.3% were allocated to the project’s development team pool, with the remaining 20% allocated to the user growth pool (UGP, used to send BAT to Brave users). Of the 1 billion BAT sold, 58% of the funds were allocated to BAT development, 13% to contractors, 12% to marketing, 10% to administrators, and 7% towards a contingency fund.
BASIC ATTENTION TOKEN ESSENTIALS
- Basic Attention Token (BAT) is integrated with Brave Browser, a user-focused internet browser built on the premise of privacy, security, and equitability.
- BAT intends to change the advertising model of the internet by incentivizing advertisers, publishers, and users by fairly rewarding participants for consuming online content.
- Basic Attention Token and Brave are made up of various products and services including Brave Wallet, Brave Firewall and VPN, Brave Playlist, Brave Search, and Brave News.
How to buy Basic Attention Token
You can buy the Basic Attention Token on Bitstamp. Sign up for a Bitstamp account and start trading BAT today!
Disclosure: Bitstamp is licensed to engage in virtual currency business activity by the New York State Department of Financial Services.