Brave Web Browser and BAT Cryptocurrency: A Detailed Review

Main

• Brave is a browser with built-in user privacy settings that hides ads on websites by default.
• Brave has a unique advertising model where users can enable ads to run on the Brave Ads network and earn rewards in Basic Attention Token (BAT) for doing so.
• The Brave Wallet crypto wallet is available in the browser, which supports the storage and transfer of assets of EVM-compatible networks and Solana.
• From 2016-2021, Brave’s user base roughly doubled each year. As of October 2022, about 20 million people use the browser daily.

Who started the project and when

Brave was founded by Brian Bondy and Brendan Eich. Eich began his career at Netscape Communications, where he developed JavaScript, which later became one of the most popular programming languages. In 1998, Eich co-founded the Mozilla Foundation, which launched the popular web browser. Eich initially worked as a technical director, and in 2014 became the head of the company, but left shortly after his appointment. Bondi has worked for Khan Academy, Mozilla and Evernote.

In 2015, Bondi and Eich founded the Brave Software company, and already in 2016 they released the first version of the Brave browser, the main difference of which from its competitors was the lack of advertising and flexible privacy settings.

They did not fail with this idea: according to the results of 2021, the browser collected an audience of more than 50 million users. According to platform official statisticsin early October, the number of daily browser users is more than 19.6 million people.

In 2017, Brave Software held a lightning-fast ICO by selling $35 million worth of Basic Attention Token (BAT) in just 30 seconds.

Brave Browser Features

Brave Browser is a free and open source browser built on top of Chromium. Externally and functionally, it resembles the usual Google Chrome with the difference that by default it does not show ads to users on websites and does not collect personal data. Brave also blocks location tracking, malware, doesn’t play videos by default, rejects third-party cookies, and doesn’t create a user’s digital fingerprint.

In the first version, the browser offered only blocking ads on sites, but later Brave Software announced the launch of its own ad network Brave Adsoperating on the Pay-to-surf (PTS) model.

It is activated if the user selects the appropriate option in the browser settings. The app then starts collecting behavioral data and showing relevant ads. You can adjust the intensity of your ads. In exchange for this, the user receives rewards in BAT cryptocurrency. In addition, verified advertisers also receive a small portion of BAT payouts.

At the same time, the system determines which ads and under what conditions to show. Brave Software emphasizes that regardless of the placement, the key condition for ads in their browser is the absence of intrusiveness.

According to the developers, thanks to blocking ads and tracking trackers on websites, the Brave browser works up to 3 times faster and consumes a third less memory compared to Google Chrome.

Crypto wallet Brave Wallet

Brave’s key Web3 element is the built-in Brave Wallet, which requires no additional installation. However, users can choose the usual extensions at their discretion.

Brave Wallet connects to other wallets and decentralized applications right on the web page, like other well-known solutions like Metamask. It supports transactions with any digital assets issued on EVM-compatible blockchains (Ethereum, Polygon, BNB Chain, Fantom, Optimism, and others). Also in the application, you can exchange fiat for cryptocurrency through the Wyre service or the Ramp Network, store and transfer non-fungible tokens (NFT) and watch quotes charts on CoinGecko.

Brave Wallet has built-in DEX functions: you can make asset swaps, for which the wallet uses 0x and Jupiter aggregators. The Brave commission, depending on the pair, is about 0.8-0.9%.

In May 2022 at Brave Wallet added support for blockchain and native cryptocurrency Solana (SOL). This allowed users to create accounts, perform cross-chain swaps, and transfer SLP tokens.

In the next version of the browser Have an opportunity store and make transfers through the Brave Wallet of the Filecoin (FIL) cryptocurrency. In addition, the wallet supports the main Celo Network (CELO).

Key features of Brave

Disabling ads and activating Brave Ads

One of the main advantages of Brave is the native ability to disable ads on websites. If you wish, you can activate a special advertising network Brave Ads, which will show targeted ads for rewards in BAT.

When registering, the user himself determines the number of ads that the system can show him. After a link is clicked for at least 5 seconds, the ad network starts accruing BAT for viewing ads. Brave Ads even allows you to make micropayments, which is rarely available in classic financial instruments today.

Donations to content producers

In the Brave browser, you can reward the creators of your favorite channels on Twitch, Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, Vimeo or GitHub, or leave them a one-time “tip”. The minimum size of one transfer is 1 BAT. To activate this feature, content creators must register in the partner network project. There is also an option to pay the sites where you spend the most time, which can also be turned off.

By Brave statisticsas of early October 2022, its network of verified content creators includes over 147,000 sites, approximately 220,000 Twitter users, and approximately 819,000 YouTube channels.

Access to blocked web resources and pages

In 2021, Brave Browser has integrated support for the IPFS protocol. It gives access to blocked web pages, speeds up their loading and saves on hosting fees. For example, some sections of Wikipedia do not work in Thailand, and about 100,000 websites are blocked in Turkey. All of these pages can be viewed in Brave Browser if you install the full protocol node or add the use of ipfs:// addresses through the gateway.

Own search engine

To prove its title as a private browser, in 2021 the Brave team launched its own search engine, Brave Search. It is built on top of the open source Tailcat system, which does not collect IP addresses or personal information. The user still has the option to choose a search engine, but by default, the Brave browser has its own search engine.

For a year of work Brave Search, by the end of June 2022, it entered more than 2.5 billion requests. The project team announced the successful completion of the beta test of the service and its full integration into the browser. Brave also has end-to-end video calling functionality.

BAT Cryptocurrency Functions

BAT is the main cryptocurrency of Brave. This is an ERC-20 token based on Ethereum. As of October 10, the token traded at $0.3, at the peak of growth in November 2021, its value reached $1.7. The crypto asset has been listed on all major exchanges, including Kraken, Gemini, Binance, Coinbase, Bitfinex, and others.

Brave browser users can earn BAT for free for viewing ads. Payouts go to the Brave Wallet crypto wallet. Verified Brave Wallet users also receive BAT cashback for wallet swaps at a rate of 20% of fees paid.

Also, content creators on YouTube, Twitter and other platforms can receive donations from fans in the BAT cryptocurrency. You can withdraw funds no more than once a month with a minimum amount of 15 BAT.

Brave browser forks

On June 6, 2020, Brave forked under the name Braver. The developers of the new project were outraged by the scandal with referral links to some crypto-exchanges and wallets, wired in the source code of the browser. In the alternative version of Brave, hidden links, video calls, widgets were removed.

A little later, the lawyers of the original browser managed to change the name of Braver. The creators of the fork promised to try again, this time based on Chromium, like Brave.

Three days after the high-profile fork, the founder of the private blockchain browser, Brendan Eich, issued an official apology and promised to remove referral links in the new version. However, users caught the Brave team in a lie: they found the links moving down the URL bar, which, in fact, is a half-way solution.

This was not the first fork for the blockchain browser. Before Braver, there was the social media platform Gab, where the BAT token was replaced with bitcoin on the Lightning Network.

Main

• Brave is a browser with built-in user privacy settings that hides ads on websites by default.
• Brave has a unique advertising model where users can enable ads to run on the Brave Ads network and earn rewards in Basic Attention Token (BAT) for doing so.
• The Brave Wallet crypto wallet is available in the browser, which supports the storage and transfer of assets of EVM-compatible networks and Solana.
• From 2016-2021, Brave’s user base roughly doubled each year. As of October 2022, about 20 million people use the browser daily.

Who started the project and when

Brave was founded by Brian Bondy and Brendan Eich. Eich began his career at Netscape Communications, where he developed JavaScript, which later became one of the most popular programming languages. In 1998, Eich co-founded the Mozilla Foundation, which launched the popular web browser. Eich initially worked as a technical director, and in 2014 became the head of the company, but left shortly after his appointment. Bondi has worked for Khan Academy, Mozilla and Evernote.

In 2015, Bondi and Eich founded the Brave Software company, and already in 2016 they released the first version of the Brave browser, the main difference of which from its competitors was the lack of advertising and flexible privacy settings.

They did not fail with this idea: according to the results of 2021, the browser collected an audience of more than 50 million users. According to platform official statisticsin early October, the number of daily browser users is more than 19.6 million people.

In 2017, Brave Software held a lightning-fast ICO by selling $35 million worth of Basic Attention Token (BAT) in just 30 seconds.

Brave Browser Features

Brave Browser is a free and open source browser built on top of Chromium. Externally and functionally, it resembles the usual Google Chrome with the difference that by default it does not show ads to users on websites and does not collect personal data. Brave also blocks location tracking, malware, doesn’t play videos by default, rejects third-party cookies, and doesn’t create a user’s digital fingerprint.

In the first version, the browser offered only blocking ads on sites, but later Brave Software announced the launch of its own ad network Brave Adsoperating on the Pay-to-surf (PTS) model.

It is activated if the user selects the appropriate option in the browser settings. The app then starts collecting behavioral data and showing relevant ads. You can adjust the intensity of your ads. In exchange for this, the user receives rewards in BAT cryptocurrency. In addition, verified advertisers also receive a small portion of BAT payouts.

At the same time, the system determines which ads and under what conditions to show. Brave Software emphasizes that regardless of the placement, the key condition for ads in their browser is the absence of intrusiveness.

According to the developers, thanks to blocking ads and tracking trackers on websites, the Brave browser works up to 3 times faster and consumes a third less memory compared to Google Chrome.

Crypto wallet Brave Wallet

Brave’s key Web3 element is the built-in Brave Wallet, which requires no additional installation. However, users can choose the usual extensions at their discretion.

Brave Wallet connects to other wallets and decentralized applications right on the web page, like other well-known solutions like Metamask. It supports transactions with any digital assets issued on EVM-compatible blockchains (Ethereum, Polygon, BNB Chain, Fantom, Optimism, and others). Also in the application, you can exchange fiat for cryptocurrency through the Wyre service or the Ramp Network, store and transfer non-fungible tokens (NFT) and watch quotes charts on CoinGecko.

Brave Wallet has built-in DEX functions: you can make asset swaps, for which the wallet uses 0x and Jupiter aggregators. The Brave commission, depending on the pair, is about 0.8-0.9%.

In May 2022 at Brave Wallet added support for blockchain and native cryptocurrency Solana (SOL). This allowed users to create accounts, perform cross-chain swaps, and transfer SLP tokens.

In the next version of the browser Have an opportunity store and make transfers through the Brave Wallet of the Filecoin (FIL) cryptocurrency. In addition, the wallet supports the main Celo Network (CELO).

Key features of Brave

Disabling ads and activating Brave Ads

One of the main advantages of Brave is the native ability to disable ads on websites. If you wish, you can activate a special advertising network Brave Ads, which will show targeted ads for rewards in BAT.

When registering, the user himself determines the number of ads that the system can show him. After a link is clicked for at least 5 seconds, the ad network starts accruing BAT for viewing ads. Brave Ads even allows you to make micropayments, which is rarely available in classic financial instruments today.

Donations to content producers

In the Brave browser, you can reward the creators of your favorite channels on Twitch, Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, Vimeo or GitHub, or leave them a one-time “tip”. The minimum size of one transfer is 1 BAT. To activate this feature, content creators must register in the partner network project. There is also an option to pay the sites where you spend the most time, which can also be turned off.

By Brave statisticsas of early October 2022, its network of verified content creators includes over 147,000 sites, approximately 220,000 Twitter users, and approximately 819,000 YouTube channels.

Access to blocked web resources and pages

In 2021, Brave Browser has integrated support for the IPFS protocol. It gives access to blocked web pages, speeds up their loading and saves on hosting fees. For example, some sections of Wikipedia do not work in Thailand, and about 100,000 websites are blocked in Turkey. All of these pages can be viewed in Brave Browser if you install the full protocol node or add the use of ipfs:// addresses through the gateway.

Own search engine

To prove its title as a private browser, in 2021 the Brave team launched its own search engine, Brave Search. It is built on top of the open source Tailcat system, which does not collect IP addresses or personal information. The user still has the option to choose a search engine, but by default, the Brave browser has its own search engine.

For a year of work Brave Search, by the end of June 2022, it entered more than 2.5 billion requests. The project team announced the successful completion of the beta test of the service and its full integration into the browser. Brave also has end-to-end video calling functionality.

BAT Cryptocurrency Functions

BAT is the main cryptocurrency of Brave. This is an ERC-20 token based on Ethereum. As of October 10, the token traded at $0.3, at the peak of growth in November 2021, its value reached $1.7. The crypto asset has been listed on all major exchanges, including Kraken, Gemini, Binance, Coinbase, Bitfinex, and others.

Brave browser users can earn BAT for free for viewing ads. Payouts go to the Brave Wallet crypto wallet. Verified Brave Wallet users also receive BAT cashback for wallet swaps at a rate of 20% of fees paid.

Also, content creators on YouTube, Twitter and other platforms can receive donations from fans in the BAT cryptocurrency. You can withdraw funds no more than once a month with a minimum amount of 15 BAT.

Brave browser forks

On June 6, 2020, Brave forked under the name Braver. The developers of the new project were outraged by the scandal with referral links to some crypto-exchanges and wallets, wired in the source code of the browser. In the alternative version of Brave, hidden links, video calls, widgets were removed.

A little later, the lawyers of the original browser managed to change the name of Braver. The creators of the fork promised to try again, this time based on Chromium, like Brave.

Three days after the high-profile fork, the founder of the private blockchain browser, Brendan Eich, issued an official apology and promised to remove referral links in the new version. However, users caught the Brave team in a lie: they found the links moving down the URL bar, which, in fact, is a half-way solution.

This was not the first fork for the blockchain browser. Before Braver, there was the social media platform Gab, where the BAT token was replaced with bitcoin on the Lightning Network.