What you have to know about BAT & Brave project (a detailed & comprehensive guide )
Greeting Hivains,
This is my first article since Hive hardfork has taken place. I have been watching this wonderful site for a while and I get really excited about this great community – project.hope
I decided to start a series of informative articles explaining the interesting Blockchain projects I know about in a bit detailed so, if you like my post, expect more in the coming days on God `s will.
Introduction:
Blockchain technology without doubt extends far beyond store of value use cases.
There’s no question that there are many Blochchain projects establishing new , innovative and outstanding technologies that can shake up the way people, companies, and even governments see business and the world.
Some projects include programmable abilities combined with smart contracts (Like Etheruem or NEO).
Some Blockchain projects offer privacy features for complete anonymity (like Moneroand and Grin), on the contrary ,others want to be tractable and transparent cryptos (like electronic cash).
There are also cryptos aim to create links between Blockchain and real-world assets (like chainlink)
And of course , I didn't forget our beloved ,Steemit and Hive which are building a blockchain-based social network in a very great way...
All in all, Cryptocurrencies are currently benefitting from the genuine advantages of blockchain and integrating them with various sectors to create new innovative technologies.
By doing so, cryptocurrencies have the power to shake up and immensely change so many well-established existing companies , and business models in different industries.
This is NOT a joke …I really BELIEVE that and I don't say it lightly…
In this informative article I’ll dive in one of these great projects which I think it will revolutionize the concept of advertising industry and browsing on the Internet …This is Basic Attention Token project and its twin brother - Brave Browser.
To make it easier, I have divided my article into a list of Q&A.
So, without any further ado, let's dive into one of the most successful blockchain projects in the world ...
Contents:
1- what is Brave Browser and whats's the difference from other browsers out there?
2- What is Basic Attention Token (BAT) and is it worth ?
3- How and when created Basic Attention Token (BAT)?
4- How can I enable ads on Brave Browser?
5- In which countries are Brave Ads available?
6- What about adoption & partnerships?
7- What are the future plans?
8- Where can I buy BAT token?
9- Where can I store BAT?
10- Issues and controversies
11- Conclusion
1 _ What is Brave Browser and what's the difference from other browsers out there?
Have you ever wearily wonder what do even get out of advertisements these days, nothing more than a few wasted seconds or maybe minutes while advertisers make profits on your account ... Brave is here to change this broken scenario ….
Brave is a privacy-focused internet browser running on the Chromium engine.
It has many positives which make it in my opinion the best browser I have ever used .
You might be wondering why .Well ,here is a brief of some of its advantages:
- Block Google ads or 3rd parties: one of the most appealing features for me is that Brave blocks ads by default, and unlike other adblock plugins, it blocks them all without bias, so you don’t need to download any external extension. Furthermore Brave browser prevent 3rd-party trackers from disturbing you and violating your privacy
- Brave ads : As we all know ,Google and Facebook are providing their users with targeted ads depending on their locations, interests and activities on Internet . In order to do so , They garners and stores users’ data in centralized servers !!! this is very dangerous if you think about it. In fact, It is NOT guaranteed that this data will not be abused in the future .On the contrary, there has been many doubts that Google and Facebook are selling their users' data. Just the idea of storing data in one place is a flagrant violation of privacy. Here comes the role of Brave browser which utilizes a revolutionary technology called "zero knowledge proof " . What does this technology do? well, to put it in a nutshell ,it doesn’t store data on centralized servers . Instead ,"zero knowledge proof " algorithm stores them on the devices of users . So if you use Brave browser you can opt-in specialized and targeted ads optionally and you can find your data is safely placed on your own device without any central authority. Even more amazing is that you will get PAID in BAT token for viewing ads (I’ll delve into this point further more later)
- Enable Private window with Tor: We all know and use private window tool in Chrome, Firefox or any other browser. When we use this tool, that means the browser doesn’t store our activities on Internet (which called cookies), but ironically it doesn’t protect us from trackers who are following us! In fact, private window hides you from yourself not anyone else!! It could be said that this tool is a sort of Self-deception in traditional browsers. However, Private window with Brave Browser is at a completely different experience. Brave's team levered from high privacy features provided from the famous Tor browser and implemented them into Brave .
When you are inside a Private Window with Tor, Brave doesn’t connect directly to a website like normal. Instead, you connect to a chain of three different computers in the volunteer-run Tor network.
- faster than any browser : This is a really obvious advantage for Brave and it will be the first thing you notice well when you use it . I think It is a positive result of blocking ads and 3rd-party trackers which drain your internet speed and in a bad manner.
- Utilize Chrome's extensions: Since Brave Browser is running on the Chromium engine that means you can benefit from all chrome's extensions which is really amazing as most people use Chrome browser and find themselves accustomed to using its extensions
2_ What is Basic Attention Token (BAT) and is it worth ?
Well , BAT stands for Basic Attention Token project . It is an ERC-20 token which intends to be a decentralized ad exchange platform built on Top of Ethereum Blockchain.
It is an open-source project and meant to resistance fraud in digital advertising industry .
BAT is used as a unit of account of user attention. The idea is simply to link users, publishers, and advertisers in a decentralized way. It brings all these three parties in a single platform where everyone will benefit in a secure and decentralized environment Without being exploited or having to sacrifice their privacy . users will get paid for their attention while viewing ads ,publishers will get paid for their content ,and advertisers will pay to Brave browser to display their ads and of course BAT token is the engine and fuel for the entire process.
This is why some people believe that BAT project would shake up and revolutionize the broken advertising world. From some people's point of view , current traditional companies like Google and Facebook are exploiting their users and steal their data without offering anything in return.
On the contrary, With Brave browser & BAT integration, users can easily earn BAT by opting-in the Brave ads program (and of course they can also opt-out if they like to block all ads)
Ads of BAT project are not intrusive or exploitative… ads respect your privacy in a professional way and appreciate your time and attention
This respectful system prioritizes ethics above profit a thing we really need especially in the crypto space…
And as I have just mentioned ,BAT is designed to be the fuel of this new system ,so whatever you are you will find yourself using and benefiting from BAT in your activities. If you are an advertiser you will need BAT token to fund and launch your advertising campaign, or if you are a content creator (publisher) you will get paid in BAT token for your original content, and finally if you are just a user you will also get paid in BAT token for your attention while viewing ads, and it is worth mentioning that 70% of ads revenue is for users and 30% is for the team behind the project…
Obviously, BAT makes a lot of efforts to break Google’s and Facebook quasi-monopoly on advertising industry, and it seems to have gone a pretty long way in this.
According to CoinMarketCap, BAT hovers between positions among TOP 50 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.
There are about 1.41 billion Basic Attention Tokens in circulation supply. However, in total, there are 1.5 billion BAT created and this will be the maximum supply which is considered a good number for future long-term price growth
3_ How and when created Basic Attention Token (BAT)?
The all-star BAT team spearheaded by Brendan Eich sought to create a crypto-based system that can gain mass adoption real quickly. They want to solve the problem with the current advertising industry . But at the same time, they are aware of the need to bring the advantages of Blockchain technology to mass adoption. And this why they integrated their Brave browser with a crypto token called “Basic Attention Token”
4_ How can I enable ads on Brave Browser?
The process is very simple :
- After opening Brave Browser, go straightly to the main menu on the top right corner
- Hit on “Brave reward” choice
- Enable “Ads”
- Now you are getting paid for every single ad
5-In which countries are Brave Ads available?
Unfortunately, Brave is still in its early days , and Brave ads are not available in all countries of the world . Brave ads are currently available in only 30 countries around the world
(United States, Canada ,United Kingdom, France ,Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Denmark, Ireland ,Australia ,Poland, Switzerland, Sweden ,Netherlands, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico ,Colombia ,Chile ,Peru ,Ecuador, Venezuela ,India, South Korea ,Japan ,Philippines ,Singapore ,South Africa) . However, the team are working hard to expand the regions in which they can run their ads.
6_ what about adoption & partnerships?
Adoption is one of the strength point of Brave & BAT project …Brave is in all probability the most successful than any other crypto-related browser.
Brave App has been installed more than +10 million times on Google Play Store with high user reviews
According to the official stats, the browser has more than 370,000 verified content creators and 13.5 million monthly active users. These records appear a considerable jump over last year's numbers. By November 2019, Brave browser had only 8.7 million monthly active users which means that it is an increase of about %55 in just 5 months!!
Obviously, these numbers and grows have not been achieved by any other crypto-based browser before.
And from partnerships perspective, Brave have a broad variety of partnerships include well-known companies and famous enterprises that are intended to push the entire project further:
- The latest and maybe the most notable one is that which happened on March 24, 2020 when Binance (The largest cryptocurrency exchange) and Brave browser announced a partnership which enables Brave browser users to smoothly trade their assets through Binance directly through a new widge implemented into Brave Browser. The new Binance widget is fast , flexible and very secured which gives users many options to manage their crypto assets include trading, ,buying and viewing summaries... This new widget is highly praised by both Changpeng Zhao (CEO of Binance) and Brendan Eich(CEO and co-founder of Brave) and even by so many users …more about this widget is in the related article
- Another great milestone achieved on March 10th, 2020 Between Brave and TAP Network, and with this collaboration ,Brave browser users can replace their BAT tokens which they easily earned by viewing ads with gift cards from hundreds of the top national enterprises and companies in various sections ( like American Airlines , Apple, Starbucks , PlayStation, Hulu ,Xbox, Uber , and so many other famous brands in the TAP Network) you can read a comprehensive article on this partnership on Brave’s official site .
- In 2019, in order to make Brave & BAT project easier to use and understand, Brave teamed up with Coinbase which will allow users to earn up to $14 by participating in the short tutorials that Coinbase put
- Also in 2019, there was a partnership between Everpedia and Brave. Everpedia joined forces with Brave to display Brave on its Homepage, in return Everpedia advertisements are featured in Brave browser.
- In 2018, Brave Software partnered with privacy-centric Qwant search engine which will allow to Qwant to be the default search engine for users in Germany and France.
- In 2018, there was another great partnership. This time with CIVIC which teamed up with Brave to improve secure identity verification on Brave Publisher platform.
- Also in 2018, there was a partnership with Dow Jones Media Group to offer exceptional content to users and introduce blockchain-related payment technologies.
- In 2017, Brave cooperated with DuckDuckGo search engine and implemented DuckDuckGo into Brave browser’s private tabs to improve the privacy of searching process
There are many other partnerships that you can read about on the official site and it seems that the team is preparing more in the pipeline…
7_ what are the future plans?
As I have mentioned above Brave ads are available in only 30 countries, there are about 193 counties around the world and the team has plans to expand the list of countries where Brave ads are available, of course the big challenge is to abide by the laws within each individual state but it seems that they are doing well in this context.
Another interesting plan in the pipeline is the dVPN (distributed virtual private network).
What is dVPN? Well, it is a VPN with no single central authority which is supposed to provide high privacy and security.
Frankly, dVPNs usually do not have a good reputation among users and some people claim that it is unpractical to use dVPNs to provide privacy.
Even worse, it has also been argued that dVPNs can be abused to unknowingly send and receive bad or illegal traffic through the network. However Brave is considering well these concerns and promising to find solutions to all of them by integrating zero-knowledge proofs algorithm with a so-called VPN° technique which they assure to offer all the Pros of dVPNs and avoid all cons.
VPN° enables users to access the internet through many nodes that will determine which traffic they transmit, without revealing the content, through the application of zero knowledge proofs algorithm. Of course the full mechanism is more complicated and the team explained in a detailed blog on their website how exactly this technique works and what challenges they are facing.
8_ Issues and controversies:
Well, thus far, this article has described BAT and Brave in a positive light,but like any crypto project, BAT has its share of drawbacks and controversies....
The biggest issues surrounding BAT project is maybe its launch…
Frankly, in 2017, ICO of BAT project was one of the most controversial in the history of cryptocurrencies, this is because of the fact that BAT managed to gather $ 35 million in almost half a minute!!! The most argumentative thing is that only 130 people bought the entire ICO and only 5 people bought half of the supply at the time. That fact means the distribution was not fair and the project was not decentralized as other crypto projects.
Another controversy is the sad fact of the Poor-user experience with crypto space which is still the biggest obstacle to any crypto-based application... Let’s be real, It is good for Brave to have been installed more than +10 million times on Google Store , but this number is still “silly” if it is compared to Chrome's +5 billion times on the same store …
The team behind the project have to work more to raise awareness of the benefits of Blockchain-based applications, which in turn will have a positive impact on Brave & BAT project.9- Where can I buy BAT token?
BAT is one of the most spreading cryptocurrencies on both centralized and decentralized exchanges with a very decent liquidity .
Some of these exchanges are:
Centralized:
AAX, Binance, Bibox, BKEX, BitTrex ,BitMart ,BitFinex ,Bitrue ,CoinEx, CoinField, Coinbase,CoinbasePro,Cat.Ex, CoinBene , CHAOEX ,CoinBene, Exrates, HuobiGlobal, HCoin, Kraken ,LATOKEN ,istemkoin, OkCoin, WhiteBIT, WBF Exchange, ZG.com
Decentralized:
IDCM, Uniswap, IDEX10- Where can I store BAT token?
Brave browser itself has an implemented wallet to keep your tokens as you earn them for viewing ads, but if you’re a long-term investor, there are more secured ways.
Since BAT is an ERC20 token then you can keep your BAT in any Etheruem compatible ERC20 wallet for example:
MyEtherWallet (MEW)
MyCrypto
Atomic (Desktop)
Ledger Nano S (Hardware)11_ Conclusion:
Google and Facebook have been monopolizing advertising industry for two decades of time.
Unlike many other cryotos that just try to create a slightly modified copy of Ethereum, Brave was brave enough to step in this field offering a really attractive choice to the world.
It has achieved great successes, but there is still a long way to go in term of adoption especially in the case of competing to giants like Google and Facebook
If Brave manages to "steal" some more attention and become integrated into the day-to-day browsing experience of internet users, it could end up seeing a kind of explosive growth for this project…
I will diffenetely keep a close eye on it…
THANK YOU FOR READING
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