Designed by one of the top Web designers, Brendan Eich, creator of Javascript and co-founder of Mozilla.org, the Ethereum-based Basic Attention Token tries to solve one of the Web’s biggest problems: advertising.
“Digital advertising is broken.” This premise is what Basic Attention Token (BAT) wants to improve. How exactly do you do it? By respecting the attention of users and the work of creators in advertising.
Powered by the Brave browser, BAT is aimed at changing the traditional advertising model. The idea is that this new design can benefit users, creators, and even advertising companies.
BAT strives to reward Web users and content creators based on attention. Tokens are distributed to users based on their online activity, and to creators according to how well they grab the user’s attention. Advertising space can also be purchased with BAT. But how does this crypto work, and what does it have to do with the Brave browser? Let’s find out.
What is Basic Attention Token (BAT)?
BAT is an ERC-20 token that seeks to reward users and advertisers. Users watch advertisements and get paid accordingly, while content creators get rewarded for how much attention their users catch. BAT is a way to monetize attention, sometimes called the attention economy.
The BAT reward feature is only available on the privacy-focused Brave Web browser. Brave blocks third-party advertisements and trackers by default, and also integrates with Tor. BAT is also used to purchase ad space and tip content creators within Brave.
While you don’t need Brave to trade BAT, however, the benefits of tokens will show if you use Brave. Even so, if you just want to trade or store them, simply go with Binance.
How the Basic Attention Token (BAT) works
After downloading the Brave browser, users can select Brave Rewards. Here’s how to get BAT using a browser.
How exactly? By exploring Brave and seeing ads. Content creators are rewarded according to the attention that grabs their content. Users can give BAT tips to content creators they like. Advertisers can also spend BAT to buy a slice of space on a user’s screen.
BAT transfers via Brave Rewards are made using the Uphold platform. This also means that Uphold bears the gas costs of the transfer process. By default, no identity verification is required to activate and use Brave Rewards. However, if you want to withdraw your earnings or deposit more than $ 1000 to the platform, you will need to provide KYC information.
Why is Basic Attention Token (BAT) important
The Basic Attention Token (BAT) is designed to solve an issue that online advertising is failing to address in the ongoing desktop to mobile transition. While websites are now designed to perform well on mobile, the same is not always the case for ad servers, which can actually slow down the browsing experience considerably.
BAT calculates that in 2018, ads cost mobile users up to $ 23 per month in data, and consumed up to 21% of the mobile battery. Additionally, advertisements can be an unwanted distraction for many people, and often lead to a breach of privacy.
On the other hand, traditional publishers also lose their ad revenue due to this kind of browser advertising landscape. Brave aims to introduce a new system that is more beneficial to all parties involved.
Use case Basic Attention Token (BAT)
Advertisers can buy ad space on Brave using BAT instead of USD. Just like Google, Facebook, or any other advertising platform, they can view metrics like views, number of clicks, conversions, and many others.
Another important use case relates to metadata. It’s no secret that metadata is incredibly valuable information. However, the user who generated the data did not usually receive anything in return. Brave and BAT aim to reward users for providing personal metadata.
Individuals or organizations with their own website, publication, YouTube channel, or Twitch account can register as content creators. If they sign up, users can then BAT tip them if the content is deemed high value. This type of model can create a more profitable space to reward the most useful content on the Web.
If you are interested in DeFi, you can also use BAT as collateral at MakerDAO to print DAI.
How to save Basic Attention Token (BAT)
BAT is stored in the Uphold wallet in the Brave browser. Starting December 2020, this is the only place you can transfer BAT earnings from Brave Rewards. As previously mentioned, if you want to withdraw your earnings from Uphold, you will need to provide KYC information.
In addition, BAT is an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain. Tokens can be stored in many places, including on exchanges such as Binance, on web and mobile wallets, and on hardware wallets. Both Ledger and Trezor support BAT storage.
Conclusion
BAT and the Brave ecosystem aim to replace the digital advertising industry. The move towards a more transparent blockchain-based advertising model brings a win for users, creators, and even ad companies.
Is Brave a better way to advertise on the Web? Maybe. BAT has yet to continue to develop itself, if more people choose Brave Rewards and more companies join the ad auction.
