Basic Attention Token (BAT): A Comprehensive Guide to the Future of Digital Advertising and User Rewards

Basic Attention Token: Everything You Need to Know

Basic Attention Token, or BAT, is a cryptocurrency token that powers a new blockchain-based digital advertising platform designed to fairly reward users for their attention, while providing advertisers with a better return on their ad spend. BAT is an innovative token fuelled by a blockchain-based digital advertising approach.

BAT is the unit of reward in this advertising ecosystem, and is exchanged between advertisers, publishers and users. Advertisers pay for their advertising campaigns in BAT tokens. Out of this budget, a small portion is distributed to publishers, while 70% is distributed to users — whereas the intermediaries that typically drive up advertising costs are cut out of the equation to improve cost-efficiency.

This experience is delivered through the Brave Browser, where users can watch privacy-preserving adverts and receive BAT rewards for doing so. On the other hand, advertisers can deliver targeted ads to maximize engagement and cut down losses due to ad fraud and abuse.

BAT was launched in 2017 following one of the fastest sell-out initial coin offerings ( ICOs) of all time, with the platform raising a total of $35 million in under a minute. As of September 2023, the current price of BAT is $0.18 per token.

How does Basic Attention Token work?

Basic Attention Token works by measuring and verifying the attention of users on the Brave Browser. Attention is defined as "focused mental engagement on a digital asset for a consistent amount of time". The browser monitors the user’s activity and attention on different websites and assigns a value to it based on various factors, such as the duration and intensity of engagement.

The browser also protects the user’s privacy by blocking third-party ads and trackers that collect personal data and compromise security. Instead, it shows ads from the Brave Ads network that are relevant to the user’s interests and preferences. The user can choose to opt-in or opt-out of these ads at any time.

When the user views an ad from the Brave Ads network, they receive 70% of the ad revenue in BAT tokens, which are deposited into their integrated Brave Rewards wallet. The user can then use these tokens to tip their favorite content creators, donate to causes they support, or redeem them for rewards such as gift cards and discounts3.

The remaining 30% of the ad revenue goes to Brave Software, Inc — the parent company behind the Brave Browser and Basic Attention Token. The company uses this revenue to fund its operations and development, as well as to distribute grants to new users and publishers who join the platform3.

Who is behind Basic Attention Token?

Basic Attention Token has two founders: Brendan Eich and Brian Bondy — two highly distinguished individuals in the internet browsing software industry.

Brendan Eich is the CEO of Brave Software, Inc. Prior to his role at Brave, Eich was the founder and CTO of Mozilla and also invented JavaScript in 1995. He also helped launch one of the world’s most popular web browsers in 2004 — Mozilla Firefox.

Brian Bondy joins as Brave’s and Basic Attention Token’s CTO. Bondy is a heavily experienced engineer with previous experience working as a senior software engineer at Mozilla, software developer at Corel Corporation and software development lead at Khan Academy.

Together, Eich and Bondy have a combined 50+ years of software development experience. In total, the Basic Attention Token website lists 16 team members, many of whom have a development, engineering or research background.

What are the use cases for Basic Attention Token?

Basic Attention Token has various use cases for different stakeholders in the online advertising industry. Some of them are:

For users: Users can benefit from using BAT by receiving rewards for their attention, having more control over their privacy and data, and enjoying a faster and more secure browsing experience. Users can also support their favorite content creators and causes by tipping them with BAT tokens or donating them to verified charities on the platform3.

For advertisers: Advertisers can benefit from using BAT by reaching a more engaged and relevant audience, reducing their ad fraud and abuse costs, and improving their brand image and reputation. Advertisers can also access transparent and accurate data on their campaign performance and user behavior through the Brave Ads Dashboard4.

For publishers: Publishers can benefit from using BAT by increasing their ad revenue share, attracting more loyal and supportive readers, and reducing their dependence on intermediaries and middlemen. Publishers can also join the Brave Rewards program to receive tips from users, as well as monthly grants from Brave Software based on their traffic and content quality.