What is Basic Attention Token (BAT)?

Deep Dive

1. Purpose & Value Proposition

BAT aims to fix digital advertising’s inefficiencies by aligning incentives among users, advertisers, and content creators. Traditional models leak user data and divert 73% of ad revenue to middlemen (Millionero Magazine). Brave Browser users opt into privacy-respecting ads, earning 70% of ad revenue in BAT, while advertisers target aggregated attention metrics instead of personal data.

2. Technology & Architecture

Built as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum, BAT leverages blockchain for transparent ad spending and fraud prevention. Brave’s Shields block trackers by default, while the BAT ledger records anonymized ad interactions. This hybrid approach balances scalability (via Ethereum) with real-time ad delivery (off-chain processing).

3. Ecosystem Fundamentals

BAT thrives within Brave’s ecosystem:
- 101M monthly active users (as of September 2025) generate demand for ad campaigns
- Creators earn BAT tips via integrated wallets, bypassing platform fees
- Advertisers access a $3B+ market with verifiable engagement metrics

Conclusion

BAT reimagines digital advertising by prioritizing user consent and fair revenue splits through blockchain transparency. As Brave’s adoption grows, can BAT overcome challenges like cross-platform scalability and mainstream advertiser adoption?