Brave Browser is a free and open source browser based on Chromium. Externally and functionally, it completely resembles the usual Google Chrome. The difference is that by default it does not show ads to users on websites and does not collect personal data. However, how can a browser financially exist without showing adverts? Let’s find out together. 😉
An unusual model
As we all know, incentives are the modern era progress engine. Everyone needs a reason for an action and Brave creators clearly understand that. Brave was initially created as a browser that hides ads completely, but after the project’s income exceeded the expenses, the team decided to make a change. 💡
They introduced the Brave Ads system, which used the absolutely new Pay-to-Surf system and allowed the user to choose between hiding all the ads or being rewarded for viewing some. 🏄♀️
The system is activated when the user selects the appropriate option in browser settings. The app then starts collecting behavioral data and showing relevant ads. You can adjust the intensity of your ads. In exchange for that, the user receives rewards in BAT cryptocurrency. Moreover, verified advertisers also receive a small portion of BAT payouts. 💰
What is BAT
BAT is the main cryptocurrency of Brave Browser, which is an ERC-20 token based on Ethereum. 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. 💳
As of October 10, the token is trading at $0.3, at the peak of growth in November 2021, its value reached $1.7.
Brave wallet?
The web3.0 capabilities of Brave aren’t limited by just a token as they are for most crypto projects nowadays. 🤔
Brave’s key Web3 element is the built-in Brave Wallet, which requires no additional installation. Capable of transactions with any digital-assets released on EVM-compatible blockchains, swapping fiat and connecting to all the popular wallets and decentralized solutions right from the web page, Brave Wallet is one of the most user-friendly browser crypto-wallets and probably one of the best wallets overall. 🤟
Other capabilities
Brave browser allows you to regularly reward (a pre-paid subscription in simple words) your favorite creators and 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 project’s partner network. There is also an option to pay for the sites where you spend the most time, which can be enabled of disabled through settings. ⚙️
Anyone remember IPFS?
The decentralized web-page protocol, that we discussed in one of the previous articles is integrated into Brave since 2021. ✅
That gives you access to blocked web pages, speeds up their loading and saves on hosting fees. As an example, some sections of Wikipedia won’t work in Thailand, and about 100,000 websites are blocked in Turkey. All those pages can be viewed in Brave Browser if you install the full protocol node or add the use of ipfs:// addresses through the gateway. 🙌
Conclusion
Why are we writing this article? Well, probably because Brave is an incredible example of how one has to implement web3.0 into centralized tech. Respectfully, a project, others should aspire to be.
Stay tuned 📻