What is Basic Attention Token (BAT) in simple words

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2019-08-25 00:00:00:

Basic Attention Token (abbreviated as BAT ) is a token that was created based on the unique Ethereum technology. This token is used in order to gain direct access to a variety of advertising services, as well as platforms and tools that are designed to so-called attracting users attention on the Brave platform. It is a relatively new, but already well-established digital ad system based on blockchain.

At its core, BAT is a financial incentive for the fact that the user has given their time and attention to viewing any advertising messages. It turns out that this token is equal to a certain number of ads that a person viewed through the corresponding browser. Users who publish any materials, as well as view advertisements in any form or form, will receive a reward in Basic Attention Token. It is extremely important to note the fact that this reward system works exclusively within this system, and tokens will be credited for viewing ads in the Brave browser.

The developers plan to form a special, unique system that will suppress any attempts by trackers to track users actions on the Internet. If the user decides to view advertisements or videos, then his behavior, as well as actions on the network, can be tracked (with his full consent) using the Brave browser. For this he will be rewarded with BAT tokens. Also one of the features is that users will see only those ads that can be generated based on their actions inside the browser.

This ecosystem will consist of publishers, users, and advertisers. The operation of the Basic Attention Token system is extremely simple, however, it is unique in its kind and revolutionary, because users have never been paid to watch ads. So, if you delve a little into the very mechanism of BAT, then its principle becomes absolutely obvious. Advertisers purchase tokens in order to draw the attention of users to their product, as well as pay publishers for their services. The publishers, in turn, plan to accept payments in tokens, and then change them for real funds.

Users can, at will, view ads and receive a certain amount of BAT tokens for this. However, it is necessary to mention the fact that this browser is absolutely free to use. The undoubted advantage of Brave is its wide toolbox and many settings. For example, pay-per-view ads are disabled by default, just like the ads themselves. This is precisely the uniqueness of the browser, because there is absolutely no advertising here until the user himself wants it.

So what is Basic Attention Token? Basically, it is a token that has been issued for use as a means of payment inside the Brave browser. As conceived by the project development team, all users have the ability to disable advertisements while using the Internet.

History of Basic Attention Token (BAT)

It is safe to say that BAT tokens are not an independent digital currency. Rather, they are one of the assets that was formed on the basis of the Ethereum blockchain. Nevertheless, it should be understood that there is a specific project behind any cryptocurrency, and it is natural that Basic Attention Token is no exception.

This cryptocurrency was created to pay for advertising services in the Brave browser. The developers of this project were such famous personalities:

B. Eich became the main initiator and creator of the BAT coin. This is the man who developed the most popular programming language in the world - JavaScript, as well as the popular Mozilla browser.
B. Bondi - an expert in the field of network and computer security;
Yang Zhu is the only girl on the development team, as well as an outstanding engineer from China and a popular web programmer;
S. Loklin was one of the co-founders of the project. He dealt with his financial side.

The idea to create a unique browser that would pay users to view ads, and help advertisers to place ads exclusively for the target audience, did not appear immediately. However, at the end of 2016, development began. It is worth noting that all the work was completed as soon as possible, and in the spring of 2017 the project was presented to the world. The cryptocurrency community was ambiguous about the appearance of another coin, however, over time, having appreciated all the advantages of this service, considerable interest arose in it. And already on May 31, 2017, the ICO was held . It was possible to purchase BAT for Ethereum, because the tokens were developed on its basis. It should be noted that the project raised more than 35 million dollars in half a minute of trading. This has never happened before in the history of the cryptocurrency market. After that, the ICO was closed, and the developers said that it was no longer planned to be held. It should also be mentioned that the biggest investment from one user was the purchase of BAT for a total of 5 million.

The next interesting innovation was introduced in 2018, when there was a reward for downloading the browser, as well as a loyalty program for invited users.

The developers have issued 1.5 billion tokens, and at the moment they have already sold more than one billion. The remainder will be distributed among new users as a reward, and a certain amount of coins left behind by the developers.

Distinctive features of Basic Attention Token

Everyone knows that the official market for advertising products on the Internet is concentrated in the hands of huge corporations and is almost completely monopolized. It should also be noted that huge companies like Google or use a variety of methods of tracking users (both legal and shadow). Today, the digital advertising market has faced many challenges:

all user actions on the Internet are monitored and tracked;
users receive annoying ads on all online services;
advertising haunts users all over the internet;
ad views are winding up and it is difficult for advertisers to find their target audience.

It is worth mentioning the financial side of the issue. For the fact that users watch ads, the budget is divided approximately equally between the owners of the site where the ad is placed and the advertisers. As a result, everyone benefits from ordinary users.

However, BAT together with the Brave browser make it possible to solve all possible difficulties of both consumers and developers with advertisers at the same time. On this platform, users get the ability to disable ads without the help of any third-party applications, and advertisers get exactly their target audience.

Also worth noting is an interesting internal micropayment function. In addition, users receive one of the most comfortable and fastest browsers, guaranteeing the security of personal data and privacy on the network.

As mentioned earlier, Basic Attention Token is an ERC-20 token that was developed based on the Ethereum platform. Each BAT coin can be used to gain access to special services as well as some third-party services. This solution allows the platform to be more accessible to a wider audience, where each participant gets paid for viewing advertisements, and can also promote their products or services.

All work on this platform is implemented in the projects own browser - Brave. And the main distinguishing feature of this browser is the complete prohibition of any tracking, control, as well as the collection of analytics or any user data through external tools. For a more detailed understanding of this platform, lets consider the categories of users that are provided for by this project. There are three of them:

Consumers - Received financial incentives in local currency for viewing advertisements. Crucially, Brave collects absolutely no data about user behavior and actions. In addition, it should be noted that the browser blocks any attempts to track user actions by advertisers and publishers.
Advertisers - promote their products or services by placing advertisements or videos. If the consumer agrees to view the ad, they will be rewarded with BAT coins for doing so.
Publishers - shape the products or services that advertisers promote. The main task of this category is to order the services of advertisers in order to further popularize the platform.

It should be noted that the system ensures that everyone is rewarded for their work. This is where the main reason for the existence of the BAT cryptocurrency becomes clear, which is needed in order to pay for any services within the network.

Also, one of the main features of the project is called the fact that all users have the right to take part in the work of the platform. This means that the Brave browser, which runs on the blockchain, collects data about the hobbies, interests and actions of a particular user. However, unlike multi-corporations that use this data to sell to advertisers, all information about the user is stored on his computer and is not available to third-party companies. That is, the advertiser does not know which particular person is interested in his product or service. This advertising method is the most effective at the moment for all categories, because advertisers get their target audience, which is interested in their product, and users maintain complete confidentiality.

How Basic Attention Token works

The principle of operation is very unusual, but unique. In order to use the Basic Attention Token cryptocurrency, you should use a special internal browser called Brave. The peculiarity of this coin is that you can get it only within this system and only through this browser. And here the fun begins. If users think that the Brave browser will save them from annoying ads, then they are wrong. However, the whole point is that ad viewing parameters are customizable. The advertiser pays for showing ads, as well as traffic, and users receive BAT for views. If users do not want to see any advertisements, then they themselves can pay with BAT coins for not showing advertisements to them. Advertising sites will earn tokens equivalent to their traffic volume. This should motivate them to release higher quality content to attract new visitors.

In principle, everything is quite simple. As elsewhere, there is advertising, and there is a lot of it. But only if for the fact that the user watches ads in any other browser he does not receive anything but a waste of his time, then in the Brave browser he will be rewarded. That is, everyone gets what they need. Advertisers - targeted advertising, and users - reward in the form of BAT currency.

But where does advertising come from on this platform? Everything is extremely simple here. The fact is that the developers actively cooperate with all advertisers and are always open to new proposals and ideas from their side. It turns out that we receive a targeted cryptocurrency Basic Attention Token, which is intended for the internal market on this platform and exists to pay for advertising products. In this case, payment for advertising products means both views of advertising and a complete rejection of the proposed advertising products.

So, having understood in detail the principle of the BAT system, we understand that here all users receive financial incentives for viewing advertisements.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Basic Attention Token

In the process of considering Basic Attention Token, it is imperative to pay special attention to the main pros and cons of this cryptocurrency, as well as the platform in general. Considering the fact that the system is relatively young, there are many controversies around it. Some experts believe that the Basic Attention Token cryptocurrency is promising and should be invested in it. However, not everyone thinks so. In order to form your opinion about this project, you should consider all opinions, weigh the possible advantages and disadvantages of the system, and only after that draw conclusions.

Benefits of BAT

It should be said that many experts in the field of cryptocurrency agree on the main advantages of BAT. First of all, it should be mentioned that this service reliably protects the personal data of users. All personal data of users cannot fall into the hands of intruders. In order to earn BAT coins, users view ads, while scammers do not have this opportunity, because the platform cooperates exclusively with real advertisers, as well as with their direct target audience and potential buyers. So, for users, the advantages of this platform are:

confidentiality and protection of personal data, because the Basic Attention project guarantees complete confidentiality;
displaying advertisements solely by voluntary consent;
the advertisements that are shown match their interests as much as possible;
receiving a reward in the form of tokens for viewing advertisements that are relevant to them;
the ability to use BAT coins in browser games, as well as other applications;
a large community of users of the Brave browser (at the moment there are about 7 million active users on the platform).

However, this platform is equally useful for ordinary people as well as for advertisers. It is worth saying that advertisers get:

a significant increase in the productivity of their work, because there is an opportunity to offer their products exclusively to the target audience that is interested in purchasing their goods or services;
thanks to this approach, the effectiveness and quality of the advertising campaign is significantly increased;
due to a targeted approach to advertising placement, almost all irrelevant impressions are cut off and the organizations budget is significantly saved;
accordingly, the level of income exceeds the volume of spending on advertising;

In conclusion, I would like to note that the BAT tokens earned for viewing ads can be used outside the Brave platform. For example, some software developers can embed coins in their browsers if they dont want to use Brave. It is also worth noting the ability to connect directly to a huge advertising network using their tools.

The development team in the process of working on the new platform has foreseen many nuances. For the convenience of users, there is a function of paying with coins for certain services of the exchange or selling them to someone.

It should be noted that the BAT system is integrated into Twitch and YouTube, as well as the so-called "donation" service. The tokens earned from viewing ads can be invested in those content providers that are of direct interest to the user (bloggers from YouTube, for example).

Disadvantages of BAT

However, you should not rush to draw conclusions after you have learned all the main advantages of the Basic Attention Token cryptocurrency and the Brave browser, because the system has certain flaws and problems that have a direct impact on the market price of tokens . So, among the main problems of Basic Attention Token, experts note:

Low demand and popularity of Brave.

If we talk about BAT only from the standpoint of the attractiveness of this cryptocurrency for investors, then this technology is not particularly interested in potential investors. Some traders have explicitly stated that the Brave browser is of no interest to them. This approach is explained by the fact that to block ads in the browser, you can simply use special extensions and not pay extra money for it.

In fact, this is the main problem, because the more users there are in the Brave network, the more expensive the market value of BAT tokens will be ( all about the origin of tokens ). However, at the moment, in order for the browser to become top-end, not enough people use it. It turns out that the development team is not particularly actively involved in the promotion of their project, but are just waiting for the browser to become popular and the world will appreciate it. It is difficult to call this strategy correct, however, only time will tell the final result.

Incomplete reward system.

Here the next problem arises, because such an interesting chain of the "watch ads - get tokens" type currently works exclusively in the test version. There are numerous complaints from users about the lack of clarity in the reward system. Also, an extremely important problem is that the earned coins often cannot be withdrawn due to various technical problems.

Incomplete browser mechanics.

This drawback is considered to be one of the most significant, because if you can still put up with the usual technical problems, then with a browser that sometimes stops blocking ads and pop-ups, and also shows ads from Brave partners or just freezes when trying to open pages or watch a video, it is extremely difficult to reconcile.

Strong lag behind the plans.

Many of the announced features of the browser have not yet been launched. The scheme of work that the developers prescribed is currently poorly implemented, and development practically stands in one place. At the moment, users can only make donations and try to earn coins for watching commercials.

Alas, the implementation of the project leaves much to be desired. If in the near future the developers do not update the roadmap, and also do not urgently take up the revision, the market value of Basic Attention Token will start to fall rapidly.

Does Basic Attention Token Mining Exist?

Naturally, when it comes to any cryptocurrency, the question arises as to whether it can be mined . In the case of Basic Attention Token, you should pay attention to the fact that this currency is not independent and was created based on ERC-20 and the Ethereum blockchain . Almost all the coins were sold out during the ICO, and those that remained were divided among the developers or serve for the further development of the project. That is why the usual concept of mining does not exist within this system. But its worth noting that currently, tokens can still be obtained for free.

How to buy or sell Basic Attention Token?

However, despite the numerous problems and difficulties of the project, not so long ago, BAT coins were added to the list of their trading pairs by many top world exchanges. Naturally, after that, the value of the currency increased. It should be noted that the maximum volumes of traders operations were recorded on the Global Markets exchange (over 42 percent). Also popular are Binance and Liqui, as well as Bittrex. You can buy, sell or exchange Basic Attention Token for Bitcoins (an informational article about the first cryptocurrency here ), as well as for Ethereums, Tether and Binance Coin. Unfortunately, no exchange with fiat currency is currently provided.

At the moment, there are more than a billion coins in active use. You can earn them using the following actions:

Download and install the Brave browser (several coins will be credited for downloading). It is imperative to register and log in, and then start viewing the advertisement, next to which there is information about the accrual of coins.
Exchange cryptocurrency or fiat funds (at the moment more than twenty types can be exchanged) for BAT tokens using the Uphold platform.
Purchase from various exchanges that trade digital currency. It is worth noting that most often BAT coins are paired with Ethereums or Bitcoins.

Basic Attention Token rate to ruble

Naturally, when it comes to any cryptocurrency, you want to know its real value. Today one Basic Attention Token costs 11.89 Russian rubles.

Basic Attention Token rate to USD

However, the main and also the most stable indicator of the position in the market of any cryptocurrency is its relation to the US dollar. At the moment, one BAT coin contains $ 0.177472. It becomes obvious that one token costs very little. But it is worth paying attention to the fact that during this year the Basic Attention Token rate against the dollar has grown several times, and has also strengthened in the global cryptocurrency market.

Basic Attention Token rate to EUR

Do not forget about the euro, because the ratio of this currency to BAT also plays an important role in the market. Today users can buy BAT tokens at the rate of 0.16 EUR per coin.

Where to store Basic Attention Token

After the user decides to purchase or invest in any cryptocurrency, he has a natural question - where is it more convenient to store it? Lets take a closer look at the questions about wallets and possible places for storing Basic Attention Token digital currency.

Currently, there are many different wallets for storing this digital currency. They differ in their type. There are cold and hot, electronic, hardware and mobile. It is also worth mentioning that you can save BAT tokens on those wallets that work online.

Almost all wallets are multicurrency, and are also fully Russified for the convenience of users from the CIS countries. However, it should be understood that there are some services that support exclusively English or some other foreign language. Some wallets can be downloaded to your computer or installed on your mobile phone, while others can be purchased online and then connected as a flash drive.

It should be noted that the official wallet from the developers, designed to store Basic Attention Token, is integrated directly into the Brave browser. This solution is considered optimal for maximum productive collaboration between different web portals. But this digital currency can be stored on many other wallets that support the ERC-20 type standard and are compatible with Ethereum. The most popular wallets for storing BAT cryptocurrency are:

MyEther Wallet;
Ledger Wallet;
Exodus;
Ledger Nano S;
Ethereum Mist DApp;
Jaxx.

It should be mentioned that many experts in the cryptocurrency sphere advise saving a particularly large number of deposits that are designed for the long term, exclusively on cold-type wallets. But a small number of coins, which are designed for medium and short term, should be stored on various exchanges. This is necessary in order to be able to sell the cryptocurrency as soon as possible at the highest possible cost.

Experts point out a clear benefit from long-term investments, as well as short-term investments that are aimed at news events.

How many Basic Attention Token

Turning to the question of how many Basic Attention Tokens were issued, it is worth noting that the development team generated exactly 1.5 billion tokens. It should be noted that no further release of new tokens is foreseen.

Emission of Basic Attention Token

As noted above, tokens were issued as a result of a one-time emission in the total amount of 1,500,000,000 coins. The development team notes the following main emission goals:

75 percent for sale during the ICO;
Developers kept 15 percent for themselves;
10 percent were frozen in order to further develop the platform and attract new users.

What is provided with Basic Attention Token

The users of this platform are offered the most convenient and understandable platform for using the Internet, as well as a chance to receive financial incentives for their activity.

The relevance of the project is confirmed by the initial trading, which took place in 2017. In less than a minute, traders invested more than $ 35 million in BAT. These indicators indicate that this platform is in demand both for large companies and for ordinary users.

Most analysts believe that this project is extremely promising, because this digital currency, as well as the Brave browser, have great potential and are of great interest to investors. This is confirmed by the fact that more than 200 thousand different companies have undertaken to form advertising content on the platform. Among the most famous are the following:

The Guardian is a well-known British newspaper;
WikiHow, as well as personally one of the co-founders of Wikipedia, Larry Sanger, who announced that he is interested in this project and uses the Brave browser himself;
Washington Post - American daily;
Vimeo is a popular video hosting service from the USA;
TradingView - a social network and special service for traders;
CoinMarketCap is an analytical service for the liquidity of cryptocurrency exchanges;
Uphold - cryptocurrency platform;
HTC is a major manufacturer of smartphones and tablets;
TAP Network and many others.

For example, not so long ago this project was supported by the Tor browser, as well as DuckDuckGo. This had a beneficial effect on the cryptocurrency rate, and also helped expand the Brave browser user base.

It is also worth paying special attention to the developers of this project, because a team of professionals famous in their field has gathered for its implementation, who have established themselves as highly qualified specialists. It should be mentioned that their reputation gives almost one hundred percent guarantee of the success of the entire project.

In the near future, the developers plan to actively work to expand the range of their partners. For example, a collaboration agreement with the cryptocurrency platform Uphold increased the price of Basic Attention Token by 26 percent.

In addition, the number of available functions in the Brave browser continues to increase. The purpose of the innovations is to improve the usability and comfort in the process of use, as well as to improve the accuracy of the data provided.

Having studied in detail all the information about this digital currency, you can come to the conclusion that this project is very promising.

The future of Basic Attention Token

Experts are of the opinion that all doors are open for such an approach. But first of all, it should be done so that people begin to actively use the Brave browser, which is the heart and basis of the Basic Attention Token cryptocurrency. In fact, this is one of the main difficulties at this stage of the project. However, it is worth noting that if the development team can overcome this, then Basic Attention Token will become one of the few cryptocurrencies that have a chance to gain widespread popularity around the world.

Currently, the process of rising prices for the digital currency BAT is stopped by weak demand for this technology. However, the development team is actively working to attract more and more potential investors and users to Brave, which in the future will have a direct impact on the market value of the currency.

The BAT project is promising and beneficial for all its participants. It is worth noting that even if the user is not interested in earning from viewing ads, as well as in high-quality advertising products, when using Brave, he will still receive an excellent browser for working on the Internet. Advertisers get analytics tools to keep them up-to-date on platform activity.

Thanks to the extremely active community on this platform, as well as significant support from contributors, the Basic Attention Token project, as well as the Brave browser, have significant potential for development in the future.

Do I need to invest in digital currency BAT? Of course yes, however, with one condition - Basic Attention Token is a cryptocurrency for long-term deposits. For investing for a short period of time, the coin is poorly suited, because in the current conditions of an unstable economic situation, an extremely slow rate of development of the rate of this cryptocurrency, as well as long stages of refinement, an investor who wants to make money on short-term investments risks losing not only time, but also financial resources ... It is for this reason that the most correct tactic would be to buy Basic Attention Token during a downtrend and hold the coins for several years. Unfortunately, one should not count on significant jumps in prices for BAT tokens earlier than in 2-3 years.

The Basic Attention Token cryptocurrency and the Brave browser have every chance of becoming popular and in demand in the future. However, this is only possible if the developers manage to bring the project to the world level. In conclusion, I would like to say that if the project can gain massive popularity, then you can be sure that the modern online advertising industry will be completely destroyed.