23 August 2021: With the emergence of web3, a major shift towards recognizing the importance of online security and privacy has allowed for an opening in market penetration for new technologies offering privacy-sensitive browsers. One of those technologies is Brave, a browser partnered with the Basic Attention Token (BAT) that pays users for viewing ads while using the internet. This article will explore the basics of Brave and why it could be a great idea to switch browsers for web3.
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Getting Paid to Browse the Internet
Getting paid just to use the internet. Sounds like a dream, right? Well, by utilizing Brave, that dream materializes. Brave Software was founded by Brendan Eich, a co-founder of Mozilla and the creator of JavaScript. The Brave browser was founded and integrated with the Basic Attention Token (BAT) as well as Tor to provide the best possible security, speed, and even monetary incentives for using the service.
Since its inception, Brave has had steady user growth. As of July of 2021, Brave has reported that it crossed 34 million monthly active users, 11 million daily active users, and even 1 million creators. Creators on Brave are partnered with the browser to be able to accept tips or contributions from other Brave users in the form of BATs, helping to facilitate a micro-web economy through the browser itself.
Basics of Brave
Brave creates a functional ecosystem between the internet user, creators within the space, and the advertisers seeking new market share in their respective sectors. Brave works by blocking malicious advertisements, trackers, and other bugs to protect users of the browser and ensure online data security & privacy. Verified creators can then run advertisements directly through Brave. Users can opt into advertisements which pop up as normal notifications. Every time an active user views an ad, that user can gets paid an amount by the advertiser in BAT.
To complete the ecosystem, Brave users can then use the earnings they receive in BAT to tip their favorite creators. This functionality works to support Twitter accounts, YouTube channels, Twitch channels, GitHub projects, and more. As of this past February, over 26 million BAT have been tipped or contributed to verified creators on Brave - amounting to approximately $20 million USD in current value.
Users can opt into ads by visiting the Brave Rewards page after installing the browser. Users receive 70% of the pay associated with advertisements, a hefty sum of the pie as far as incentives go. While the active campaigns differ by country, the United States is currently the leader with over 70 active campaigns for users to receive ads from. Personally, I have my ad count set to the highest setting, 10 per hour, to maximize my potential BAT earnings.
Current advertisers utilizing Basic Attention Token and the Brave browser include eToro, BlockFi, Crytpo.com, Verizon, Ashley Homestore, Nexo, and more.
Basic Attention Token
Basic Attention Token is a cryptocurrency-based solution to the "endemic" problems within the digital advertising markets, specifically the problems with data privacy invasion. BATs help to solve this ongoing issue. BAT is directly integrated into the Brave browser to essentially create the ecosystem in which it is trying to fill - and it is working. With over 30 million monthly active users and countless BAT now circulating, not only does the cryptocurrency itself have major utility, but the development team has also developed a web3 ecosystem that could in fact help to facilitate the mass adoption of cryptocurrency technology.
Currently within the verified creators on Brave, there are over half a million YouTube channels, over 150,000 Twitter accounts, and nearly 100,000 Twitch channels are accepting BAT as contributions.
Tor Technology Integration
Another bonus within the Brave browser is the integration of Tor, arguably the most secure way to browse the internet. Tor is a nonprofit that specializes in functional privacy technologies and anonymity online to protect users human rights while freely using and searching the web. Tor has pushed forward the online privacy sector tenfold with its open source anonymity developments and applications.
Brave has integrated Tor by giving users the option to run private browsers through Tor relays, extending the benefits of privacy while searching the web. These private windows also have automatically set up Duck Duck Go as the main search engine, allowing for maximum security should a user choose to utilize Tor.
Stacking BATs Through Brave Is Actually Lucrative
After about 36 hours of utilizing the Brave browser, I have currently stacked just under 2 BATs. This is equal to approximately $1.51 USD based on the current price of BAT. While I reside in the country with the highest amount of campaigns (USA), this is extremely encouraging. Bringing these numbers down a bit, we can analyze a possible future value of initiating BAT stacking today.
If a user is able to collect 15 BAT per month, that would equate to around 180 BAT being earned just for browsing the web per year. Using some metrics of the Basic Attention Token, we can hypothesize the future value of these tokens. Currently, each BAT is valued around $0.88 USD. There are 1,489,000 BAT currently in circulation with only 1,500,000 BAT ever to be created, so it is currently nearly at full circulation already. Once full circulation is reached, there is nothing stopping the price from increasing year to year just based on the pressure of rising demand against a fixed supply.
Above: Current price action of Basic Attention Token
With a market cap of only $1.3 billion and an ever-growing user base on Brave, the ecosystem in which BAT is utilized the most is expected to continue to grow. Based on these numbers, allow us to speculate a bit. In 5 years, let us theorize that the market cap of BAT has increased tenfold to $10 billion USD. Based on the fixed supply, that would place the value of each BAT token at just under $7.
Going back to our estimated accumulated BAT from using the Brave browser, this would be the equivalent of earning an additional $105 per month and $1260 per year just for browsing the internet. Not a bad grab. Consider stacking your BATs until that value is reached in a hypothetical 5 years and that is an additional $6,000 earned for using a browser. Obviously, this is all speculative, but the incentives and possible rewards in the form of BATs is all icing on the cake when you consider the speed, privacy features, and integrations with web3 sites that allow Brave to surpass other browsers in functionality even today.
Summary
While there was a ton of functionality, features, and other incentives not covered within this article, the basics of the Brave browser alone warrant at least a look into what the future of internet browsers could and should resemble as the world pushes more towards online privacy. Integrations with Tor and Basic Attention Token ensure that your data is protected, malicious ads and trackers are blocked, and even provides a new way to generate a little side cash through stacking crypto.
Using Brave as your main browser isn't a one stop shop to get rich by doing nothing but using the internet. However, every amount of money earned per month does add up. Consider using Brave to cover subscriptions to streaming services like Disney+, stacking BATs for future gains, or even simply upgrading your browser from the likes of Chrome to a browser that protects your online data, ensures protection from harmful trackers, and puts users first - as it should be.
Link to download Brave: Brave Browser
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