- BAT is used as local currency for all the transactions on the Brave browser.
- Brave Browser rewards every entity on its platform in the form of BATs.
A Basic Attention Token (BAT) is a digital currency based on the blockchain technology of Ethereum (ETH). Designed by Brendan Eich, the co-founder of Mozilla Firefox, BAT is a step ahead into the future. With the help of blockchain technology, Brendan Eich aimed at creating BAT to be a fair, secure, and efficient way of digital advertising.
Brave browser has BAT as its native token. Just like Google, Bing, and Safari, Brave is a web browser that blocks unwanted ads. However, it does contain ads, which are called Brave ads, which pay the users for their attention. BAT is given to Brave users for viewing the ads.
Understanding the Uses of BAT in Brave Browser
BAT, being the native token of Brave browser, is used as its own currency for the platform. Brave browser is a privacy-centered browser that was created to block unwanted ads, malware, etc. Basic Attention Token can be exchanged among all types of users of the Brave browser even the publishers and the advertisers.
Brave rewards its users for viewing in the form of BATs, which can be converted into cash or stored in digital wallets and can be exchanged for consuming exclusive content or for various other services offered by the browser. Although Brave blocks all ads and trackers, it only allows the users who have “opted-in” for viewing ads to view ads and receive rewards.
Brave browser not only incentivizes users but also publishers. It gives BATs as rewards to the publishers on the basis of user attention generated by their content. This also benefits the advertiser by generating a higher return on investment for them. Brave also allows the users to tip the content creators in BATs.
The creators of Basic Attention Token believe that prevailing trends in the digital advertising industry are unfair to advertisers, publishers, and users, as they don’t get a choice in choosing if they want to watch ads or not along. This is done with unconsented tracking of user data.
Brave browser, with the help of algorithms, tries to identify the interests of its user and then match the advertisements shown to the users according to their tastes and preferences. It is a continuous effort to monetize user action on advertisements.
Why is BAT Valuable?
If we talk about the advertising industry, it’s all about the viewer paying attention to whatever ad is playing in front of them but most of the time that’s not the case.
Now, as Brave runs on a revenue-sharing model, it gives a certain percentage of ad revenue to the users who have opted-in for viewing ads. This is an effective way for ad publishers to gain user attention even if they have to share a small portion of it with the users for their undivided attention.
BAT is not infinite in number and is limited to 1.5 billion tokens. As of 31st May 2023, all of it is in circulation. To get one Ethereum, one has to exchange 6400 BATs but this figure is directly proportional to the price of Ethereum, if there is any fluctuation in the price of Ethereum, the exchange rate automatically adjusts itself according to the price prevailing at the time of exchange. The exchange rate as of 8th June 2023 stands at 9392.17 BAT per ETH.