Deep Dive
1. Solana Self-Custody Integration (Q4 2025)
Overview: BAT is migrating user rewards from custodial wallets to self-custody via Solana, aiming to empower users with direct control over their tokens.
This integration leverages Solana’s high-throughput blockchain to streamline payouts for Brave Rewards users. Developers are adapting BAT’s existing Ethereum-based infrastructure to interact with Solana’s smart contracts, though no major codebase commits are publicly highlighted yet.
What this means: This is neutral for BAT because while it improves user ownership, the technical complexity risks delays. Users gain true custody but face potential learning curves for managing Solana wallets. (Source)
2. Ethereum Fusaka Scalability Prep (December 2025)
Overview: BAT’s team is optimizing its Ethereum smart contracts ahead of the Fusaka upgrade, which aims to reduce gas fees and improve transaction finality.
While not a direct codebase overhaul, developers are testing compatibility with Ethereum’s upcoming proto-danksharding (EIP-4844). This could lower costs for BAT microtransactions in Brave’s ad ecosystem.
What this means: This is bullish for BAT because cheaper Ethereum transactions could boost Brave’s ad engagement metrics and BAT utility. However, full benefits depend on Ethereum’s upgrade timeline.
3. Brave Search & ANONIZE Privacy Tech
Overview: BAT is being embedded into Brave’s new privacy-focused search engine and ANONIZE framework, though code changes are tied to Brave’s internal development.
ANONIZE uses zero-knowledge proofs to anonymize ad targeting data, requiring BAT to handle micropayments without exposing user identities. This integration appears in Brave’s browser codebase rather than BAT’s standalone repo.
What this means: This is bullish for BAT because it deepens the token’s role in privacy-preserving ad tech, but transparency into specific BAT protocol updates remains limited.
Conclusion
BAT’s development focus has shifted toward ecosystem integrations (Solana, Ethereum upgrades) rather than core protocol changes, reflecting its maturity as a utility token. While no groundbreaking codebase updates are visible, partnerships and infrastructure upgrades aim to strengthen BAT’s use case in Brave’s expanding privacy ecosystem. How might BAT balance decentralization with Brave’s centralized browser development moving forward?