Brave Browser’s Basic Attention Token has the potential to change the internet. No big deal.  Covered: What Is Basic Attention Token? Tokenomics What Is Brave Browser How It Works Concern What Is Basic Attention Token? Basic Attention Token or BAT aims to fix the ‘broken’ digital advertising industry. Whether we like it or not, the […] The post What Is Basic Attention Token? appeared first on CryptosRus.

What Is Basic Attention Token?

Brave Browser’s Basic Attention Token has the potential to change the internet. No big deal. 

Covered:

  • What Is Basic Attention Token?
  • Tokenomics
  • What Is Brave Browser
  • How It Works
  • Concern

What Is Basic Attention Token?

Basic Attention Token or BAT aims to fix the ‘broken’ digital advertising industry.

Whether we like it or not, the internet depends upon ads to survive. Without the revenue that is collected through ads, most online businesses would collapse. However, the whole digital advertising industry faces a lot of challenges.

Hackers can set up fake websites to cajole unknowing users into clicking on dangerous ads. Similarly, most people are ruthlessly spammed with links and ads as they surf the internet. And finally, the most significant problem with the digital advertising industry is that it relies on taking users’ personal data. Essentially the users themselves and their attention has become a commodity.

This is where Brave comes in. Basic Attention Token or BAT aims to fix the ‘broken’ digital advertising industry. Through the use of the Brave web browser, it aims to revolutionize the current advertising model completely. BAT allows the users to be rewarded for their ‘attention.’

Similarly, the content creators are rewarded directly by the people who consume their content instead of any third party. It also allows the user greater control of the quantity and the type of ads they want to see.

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Tokenomics

BAT is an ERC-20 token and built on the Ethereum network. It is the native cryptocurrency of the Brave Browser.

BAT was first unveiled in March of 2017. The Initial Coin Offering (ICO) was held in May of the same year. In the ICO, almost $36 million was raised within 30 seconds, with BAT being sold at the rate of 6,400 BAT per 1 ETH.

BAT has a total supply of 1.5 Billion tokens, with almost 99% of it is in active circulation at this moment in time.

Who Created Brave?

…2017 ended with Brave Browser having over 1 million active monthly users in December. As

The Brave Browser project was launched by Brendan Eich. Brendan Eich is a man who needs no introduction in the world of the web as he invented JavaScript in 1995, he is also the co-founder of the popular internet browser, Mozilla Firefox. He is currently the CEO of Brave Software Inc., which was founded in 2015.

The company is headquartered in San Francisco. Most of the team behind the project are alumni of big tech companies like Microsoft and Intel. One such name among these is Brian Bondy, the chief technical officer (CTO) of the company and a seasoned software engineer.

The Brave Browser was launched in the January of 2016, while in September of the same year, a new feature was introduced which allowed users to make anonymous payments to the publishers. In March of 2017, the Basic Attention Token (BAT) was unveiled.

The initial coin offering (ICO) was held in May and raised almost $36 million. In November of the same year, Brave began working with YouTube and allowed users to tip their favorite channels. The incredibly exciting year of 2017 ended with Brave Browser having over 1 million active monthly users in December. As of today, that number has increased to almost 42 million people who are using Brave Browser.

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What Is Brave Browser?

Brave Browser is a privacy-centric internet browser-based upon Chromium, the open-source version of Google Chrome. Brave Browser is the main product of Brave Software Inc. It aims to provide a better advertising experience to the user while at the same time prioritizing the privacy of the user. It achieves this goal by blocking trackers, invasive cookies, and malware through its built-in shields feature.

In terms of speed, the team behind Brave browser claims that it can run almost 3-6 times faster than its competitors, including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Opera. Brave Browser also allows the users to monetize their ‘attention’ by opting in to see non-intrusive ads. By viewing these ads, the users can earn BAT as a reward. It also has a wallet built within the Browser, allowing the user to make cryptocurrency transactions while surfing the web.

How It Works

Basic Attention Token (BAT) primarily works through the Brave Browser, which is the company’s main platform. Using blockchain technology, Brave browser manages to provide a privacy-centric web experience and a radically different advertising model. Basically, a user’s attention or engagement with content on the web is logged on the Browser. The content creators and the users alike are rewarded in this model, while the advertisers are also rewarded in BAT and the ‘attention’ of the users.

BAT is the token that facilitates all of this by providing a medium of transaction of value. To track the transactions of BAT throughout the ecosystem, the Brave Micropayments Ledger is used. This Micropayments Ledger allows advertisers, readers, and content creators to enter into smart contracts with each other. Brave is also experimenting with zero-knowledge proofs for its blockchain. This will allow complete anonymity to all relevant stakeholders in all their online transactions.

Brave doesn’t collect users’ data without permission, unlike popular web browsers. It is also unique because it doesn’t store it either. The user’s private data and tracking data are stored on the user’s own device, thus ensuring that it remains anonymous and private. Brave also employs the use of the ANONIZE algorithm which allows the complete concealment of confidential data from the public eye. This means that, while advertisers may create tailored ads, they can’t utilize Brave to find users’ personal data.

Concerns

The success of Brave depends upon if the digital advertising industry accepts this new model. So far, the signs seem quite promising, as Brave has begun to work with YouTube, which allows users to tip their favorite content creators in the form of BAT.

This can allow users who have inadequate views to earn from YouTube itself via Brave. All of this may seem fine and dandy, but Brave has also been heavily criticized in many aspects as well. For example, many people state that the model being advocated puts a lot of control within the hands of Brave, as most transactions will happen through the platform. Similarly, there is another concern that publishers are paid a lot more than they are in current models of digital advertising.

One of the main concerns raised about the Basic Attention Token is that it lacks utility as a token. Even though it’s being traded on most of the major exchanges around the world, but still it does not have a lot of utility as a token itself, which basically means that it can’t be used to buy a huge variety of stuff just yet. However, it can be traded with fiat currency or most major coins, if one intends to buy something with it.

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