What Is Basic Attention Token (BAT)?

TL;DR

“Digital advertising is broken.” This premise is what the Basic Attention Token (BAT) seeks to fix. How exactly does it do that? By rewarding user attention in advertising and giving back to the creators.

Powered by the Brave browser, BAT is set to change the traditional advertising model. The idea is that this new design could benefit the users, creators, and even the advertising companies.

Introduction

Designed by one of the Web’s top minds, Brendan Eich, creator of Javascript and co-founder of Mozilla.org, the Ethereum-based Basic Attention Token tackles one of the Web’s biggest problems: advertising.

BAT seeks to reward Web users and content creators based on attention. The token is distributed to users based on their online activity and to creators according to how well they capture user attention. Advertising space can also be purchased with BAT. But how does this crypto work, and how does the Brave browser fit in the picture? Let’s find out.

What is Basic Attention Token (BAT)?

BAT is an ERC-20 token that seeks to reward both users and advertisers. Users watch ads and get paid accordingly, while creators get rewarded for how much user attention they capture. BAT is a way to monetize attention in what is sometimes referred to as “the attention economy.”

BAT’s reward feature is only available on the privacy-centric Brave Web browser. Brave blocks third-party ads and trackers by default and also has native integration 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, the power of the token is unleashed if you’re using Brave. Even so, if you’d only like to trade or hold it, you can do it on Binance.

How Basic Attention Token (BAT) works

Upon downloading the Brave browser, users can opt into Brave Rewards. This is how they can earn BAT using the browser. 

How exactly? By browsing on Brave and viewing ads. Creators are rewarded according to the attention their content attracts. Users can also tip BAT to content creators they like. Advertisers can also spend BAT for a slice of the users’ screen space.

BAT transfers through Brave Rewards are done using the Uphold platform. This also means that Uphold covers the gas cost of the transfers. By default, no identity verification is required to enable and use Brave Rewards. However, if you’d like to withdraw your earnings or deposit more than $1000 to the platform, you’ll need to provide KYC information. 

Why Basic Attention Token (BAT) is important

The Basic Attention Token (BAT) is designed to solve problems that online advertising has failed to address in the ongoing shift from desktop to mobile. While websites are now designed to show well on mobile, the same can’t always be said for ad servers, which can considerably slow down the browsing experience.

BAT calculated that in 2018 advertisements cost mobile users up to $23 per month in data and chewed up to 21% of their mobile battery. In addition, adverts can be an unwelcome distraction for many, and they often cause privacy violations. 

On the other side, traditional publishers are also losing ad revenue due to the browser advertising landscape as it stands. Brave aims to introduce a new system that’s more rewarding for all parties involved.

Basic Attention Token (BAT) use cases

Advertisers can purchase advertising space on Brave using BAT, as opposed to USD. Much like Google, Facebook, or other ad platforms, they can view metrics such as views, clicks, conversions, and many others.

Another important use case concerns metadata. It’s no secret that metadata is extremely valuable information. However, the users generating the data usually receive nothing in return. Brave and BAT aim to give back to the users for providing their private metadata.

People or organizations with their own websites, publications, YouTube channels, or Twitch accounts can sign up as content creators. If they do, users can then tip BAT to them if they think they are bringing them the most value. This type of model could create a more favorable space for rewarding the most useful content on the Web.

If you’re interested in DeFi, you can also use BAT as collateral in MakerDAO to mint DAI against.

➟ Looking to get started with cryptocurrency? Buy Bitcoin (BTC) on Binance!

How to store Basic Attention Token (BAT)

BAT is stored in the Uphold wallet within the Brave browser. As of December 2020, this is the only place you can transfer your BAT earnings from Brave Rewards. As we’ve mentioned earlier, if you’d like to withdraw your earnings from Uphold, you’ll need to provide KYC information.

Otherwise, BAT is an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain. It can be stored in plenty of places. These include exchanges such as Binance, web and mobile wallets, and hardware wallets. Both the Ledger and the Trezor support holding BAT.

Closing thoughts

BAT and the Brave ecosystem aim to disrupt the digital advertising industry. The move towards a more transparent, blockchain-based advertising model represents a win for users, creators, and even ad companies. 

Is Brave a better way to do advertising on the Web? Maybe. BAT has a lot of room for growth if more people opt-in to Brave Rewards and more companies join in on the ad auction.