Basic Attention Token or BAT is a utility token on the Ethereum blockchain. Their mission for BAT is not to be a form of currency or financial instrument, but rather record keeping for digital advertising. Its design is to act as a unit of account between publishers, advertisers, and viewers (more about the project here).
As users of Brave Browser or Publish0x we are constantly earning BAT tokens. Now, we could utilize them for the use case above by tipping publishers or donating to websites (and you should!), but do we have other options? The answer is yes. In this article I will give you a few ideas what to do with your BAT.
Note/Disclaimer:
This article is to give you ideas, it isn't a tutorial. I only write from experience, so I do everything below. All are popular and proven to work, however they do come with risk. A contract could bug out or a protocol could fail. Before doing anything, educate yourself and only risk small amounts for understanding before jumping in head first.
This article assumes you have BAT in a wallet such as Metamask. If you do not know how to move BAT from Brave or Publish0x into your personal wallet, or want help using the ideas seen below leave a comment in this article. If there is enough interest I will write tutorials.
Swap it!
Don't want your BAT? No problem, you can swap it using a decentralized swapping exchange such as Uniswap. Basically, you enter the amount of BAT to swap in the "From" section, and the token you want to replace it with in the "To" section. Review and agree to conversion rates, and click Swap. After paying a small transaction fee (small if gas is low), you are now the owner of a brand new token of choice.
Things to know:
- Swapping costs gas, so make sure you have enough BAT to make it worthwhile
- Watch the conversion rates for some tokens, make sure you are getting a good value
Compound it!
Can I use my BAT Tokens to make more BAT? Sure, you can lock it into a smart contract over at Compound to earn passive interest. To start, load up Compound finance and in the "Supply" section enable BAT. After paying a transaction fee and turning it on, you can supply the contract with whatever amount of BAT you desire. In return, by adding supply you receive a cBAT token (stands for compounded bat) in your wallet. After your BAT is set, the earning begins.
Things to know:
- At any time you can remove your BAT from the contract by withdrawing
- Supplying BAT allows others to Borrow it
- Compound is a decentralized finance protocol (DeFi)
- By using the protocol you will earn passive COMP tokens
Use it!
Am I able to use it to buy things or donate? Yes, you can do all that over at TAP. Tap Network allows Brave users to trade BAT rewards for gift cards. If you have Uphold, you can log directly into their site after authorizing. Use BAT to purchase gift cards for food, clothing, and much more. Additionally, they have a section to donate your BAT to Covid efforts.
Things to know:
- Uphold Wallet requires KYC to get your BAT
- When authorizing TAP Network, it asks for your personal information
For more information about the projects mentioned:
- Uniswap: https://uniswap.org/faq
- Compound: https://compound.finance/documents/Compound.Whitepaper.pdf
For more ideas like this and/or tutorials follow me!
