Recently, I configured all of my devices to use the Brave browser, because I was very attracted to the having Privacy focused plugins embedded in a fast browser that is open-source. After I was happy with a technical win, I discover there is much more to Brave than the technical aspects.
Contents
What are BATs ?
BAT stands for Basic Attention Token. It is yet another crypto-currency. The difference is that this crypto-currency is backed (and is backing) by the Brave initiative for a healthier and more private ad ecosystem. Another difference is that of promising growth and tangible results of the system :
- The number of active Brave browser users is around 8 million .
- The number of publishers in the BAT ecosystem is around 352000.
- There have been around 400 Ad campaigns, cumulating 90 million ad confirmation events with a 14% clickthrough rate (above with 12% over the industry average). Not shaking Google or Facebook ads anytime soon, but a very promising start.
- Millions of dollars payed out to Brave end users and publishers.
On top of a free, fast, private, open-source browser, you get payed to click on ads and you receive free crypto-currency ?
Yes, you do. Of course, nobody will get rich just by waiting for free BAT grants from Brave. But that is not the point. The point is that there are more reasons to be part of this system.
A system which rewards users for dedicating their attention to ads and publisher for publishing quality content.
One can learn more the Basic Attention Token on crypto-currency exchange Coinbase in the educational series on Coinbase learn.
For Brave End users
I noticed that I could claim free BATs from Brave.
I then discovered that was the monthly free BAT grant, which comes from the User Growth Pool, a reserve of BAT used to incentivize users to use the platform.
End users can also opt-in to see Ads and set a certain frequency. If users engage in the Ads, they will receive 70% of the ad revenue.
The infographic below details what kind of users is Brave for. I was once a David but now I’m a Beth
Another way of getting BATs is by simply downloading the Brave browser and receiving 5$ after continuous usage for 30 days.
And another way of getting BATs is by referring others to download the Brave browser. Both the one who gave the referral and the new user will receive 5$. The new user as mentioned above for installing it for the first time and the one who referred.
Yet another referral scheme ? I wouldn’t call it a scheme since it is backing such an amazing system and since some people earn a decent income from this.
For Content creators
Besides running Brave on all the devices that I administer, I signed up as a Brave Publisher. Big names like Wikipedia and CoinMarketCap have jumped on the boat as well.
Brave Creators can receive voluntary tips from other Brave users from their browser.
Brave will also monitor the way the users attention is dedicated to a Creators space (either a website, Twitter feed, Youtube channel, Twitch channel) and will suggest monthly tipping amount.
Again, it’s not a get rich scheme (and if it were I would not be writing about), but a very good and easy way of both users rewarding quality content and publishers receiving a reward for their time. Ideal for independent consultants, bloggers or entities that function based on donations, like Wikipedia.
They way the Ad revenue shared is split is very transparent :
- 70% of the revenue share to participating Verified publishers and content creators.
- 15% of the revenue share will go to users that view and engage with the Publisher-integrated Ads
- 15% of the revenue share will go to Brave.
Registering as a publisher
Independent consultant or blogger wanting to get more visibility and better rewarded for your time ? You can Sign up as a Brave Rewards Creator with your Youtube, Twitch channels, Website, Twitter feed or even Soundcloud.
All publishers are listed on BATGrowth and you can recognize an approved publisher by the browser icon,as you can see below :
Each publisher will have a default tipping banner, which visitors will see when browsing to the website.
There is a default tipping banner, the one in the picture below, but it can be customized to fit the theme of your website or channel.
Funding and Withdrawing funds
Besides the free methods of getting BATs, end users can also fund their Brave browser BAT wallet.
Most end users and publishers are probably thinking how to get their BATs out.
Both can be done by linking your BAT wallet in Brave with an Uphold account.
Uphold is a US based FinTech organization, where you can store both regular currencies and crypto-currency. Brave has an exclusive agreement with Uphold, so funds can only be withdrawn to or added via Uphold.
Nothing is perfect
Especially with technology. There will be issues from time to time.
The small inconveniences caused are very much insignificant than the idea of being part of a different, fair and open way to do advertisements.
Below are some that I encountered so far. No real issue in terms of accessing funds or tipping publishers. More user interface issues that resulted in errors having me retry my action several times.
Error when trying to claim grants
Error when tipping
Conclusion
Speed and privacy. Very important things that everybody should consider in today’s digital world. I’m glad that Brave has both, without compromising any of them.
Fair, transparent and opt-in ads system. I could not live without an Ad blocker for 9+ years, because I grew sick and tired of today’s Ads landscape. Brave rewards and BAT aims to change that and I want to be a part of it.
What are you waiting for ?
Download the Brave browser and get 5$ in BAT, enjoy fast and private browsing while supporting a system for the future.