While blockchain and digital currencies continue to proliferate, companies have found new ways to apply the most innovative technology to older issues and problems. The Basic attention token (BAT) was created by Brendan Eich, co-founder of Mozilla Firefox and creator of JavaScript, and aims to improve the efficiency of digital advertising.
BAT The Basic attention token uses the Ethereum blockchain and a special browser called Brave. The token is used as a currency on the Brave platform and can get various different advertising services. It is designed to be exchanged between users, advertisers and publishers and is based on an unusual concept, although extremely important for advertising companies operating in the digital age: the user’s attention.
The creators of BAT are trying to revolutionize the way advertising is done in the digital age. In their opinion, current trends would penalize users, publishers and advertisers alike. For example, users are flooded with ads and trackers and are also subject to increasingly powerful and aggressive malware. Publishers (unlike Google and Facebook) see little in terms of revenue, although bots are able to inflict more and more damage on fraud every year. Advertisers do not have enough information or targeting methods to disclose their content in an acceptable manner.
The BAT developers believe that by detecting the way in which users interact with digital advertising content and keeping this information in a distributed ledger, they will be able to improve the digital advertising experience for all three categories. Users will face less ads, with content that is more suitable for them. Publishers will find new sources of income. And advertisers will be able to better target particular users based on their interests and content preference and will also be able to avoid fraud more efficiently.
A privacy-based browser
The BAT token (BAT / USD) is centered on the Brave browser. The latter is an open source and privacy-based browser designed to block trackers and malware. It uses blockchain technology to detect the user’s attention in an anonymous and secure manner, which translates into rewards for publishers. The user’s attention, ie his mental participation in content such as advertisements, is recorded through Brave.
The creators of BAT indicate that the user’s private data and the information collected are stored exclusively on the user’s device, ensuring that it is anonymous and private. Digital advertising publishers are rewarded for the user’s attention with Basic Attention Token. The more efficient their content is in generating a user’s lasting attention, the greater their revenue becomes. At the same time, advertisers get greater return on investment.
Brave also uses anonymous data related to user attention to assist advertisers with targeting and fraud reduction. BAT is the digital currency that facilitates the whole process. It is linked to the attention value, which is calculated based on the incremental duration and the pixels in sight for any relevant advertising content.
The BAT system aims to quantify and further monetize the user’s action on digital advertising in the future. Brave also helps to combine ads to users, based on machine learning algorithms that determine the interests of the customer. Brave browser users are also rewarded with BAT for their participation in the project.
BATs can be exchanged for various services on the platform as well as for selected premium content. However, publishers will receive “most” advertising revenue, according to the BAT website. It is not clear at this point what the premium content on the Brave network will consist of. Likewise, it is not known what services can be connected to the platform or how the payment system for these services will work. In anticipation of concerns regarding fraud and privacy issues, Brave and BAT developers have incorporated various security measures into their browser and digital token system. The developers indicate their willingness to “reduce possible fraudulent ads through the use of cryptography, greater client-side integrity and transparency obtained through open source”.
The BAT white paper reports the date of January 7, 2018. The project is still under development, although prototype versions of the Brave browser are available for download. System developers state that parts of the browser and system are “complete queues” and ready for public use. According to the white paper, the launch of the Basic Attention Token aims to raise a total of 24 million dollars.
The total token distribution available to the public during the launch will be 1 billion BAT. The exchange rate for BAT is set at 6,400 BAT per ETH, which means that if the price of ethereum rises or falls, the price of BAT will be adjusted accordingly. The Basic Attention Token was initially designed to be used only within the Brave browser, so it must be converted into ETH token and then from there into fiat currency. Finally, however, it is possible that BAT tokens can be transferred outside the Brave network and can also be used in other contexts.
