What is Basic Attention Token (BAT)?

Deep Dive

1. Purpose & Value Proposition

BAT aims to reform the $3T+ digital ad industry by eliminating middlemen and tracking. Users earn 70% of ad revenue for opting into privacy-respecting ads via Brave, while advertisers target anonymized audiences to reduce fraud. Publishers receive BAT directly from user contributions, bypassing platforms like YouTube or Facebook that take large cuts.

2. Technology & Architecture

Built as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum, BAT leverages Brave’s open-source infrastructure:
- Shields: Blocks trackers and invasive ads by default.
- Brave Rewards: Users earn BAT via an integrated wallet, which can tip creators or cash out.
- ANONIZE: Privacy protocol anonymizes ad engagement data to protect user identities.

3. Tokenomics & Governance

• Fixed supply: 1.5B BAT created at launch (2017), with 300M reserved for user growth incentives.
• Use cases: Ad purchases, cross-platform tips, and in-browser payments (e.g., Brave Talk calls).
• Decentralized governance: Community proposals (BAT Ambassadors) guide ecosystem development, though Brave Software retains oversight.

Conclusion

BAT reimagines digital advertising by aligning incentives across users, creators, and brands through blockchain transparency and privacy safeguards. While Brave’s 101M+ users (as of September 2025) validate its model, can BAT expand beyond browser-based rewards to become a universal metric for attention value?