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Javascript creator, and Mozilla and Firefox co-founder Brendan Eich now brings browser Brave and a new digital advertising ecosystem to the market.
Blockchain is set to take on traditional digital advertising.
A blockchain-based digital advertising platform that utilizes the browser Brave will be using an Ethereum-based unit of exchange called the Basic Attention Token (BAT).
“Attention-based Economics on Blockchain”
Javascript creator, and Mozilla and Firefox co-founder Brendan Eich now brings browser Brave and a new digital advertising ecosystem to the market. In the introductory video, Eich explains that Brave is introducing a blockchain-based digital advertising model that cuts out the middlemen and rewards sites based on user attention.
He told CoinDesk, “”We’re trying to re-monetize user attention.”
Eich said that the combination of technologies in blockchain, smart contracts, browser analytics, open source code, and auditability is the future of digital advertising.
Brave, the browser + BAT, the currency = a new digital ecosystem.
Based on Ethereum technology, user attention will be anonymously monitored in the Brave browser, publishers will be rewarded when ads are viewed and users are also rewarded by advertisers if they choose to receive ads. Users can then donate back to publishers they want to support.
It is important to note that users will be opting in to receive advertising, which highlights the value of user attention.
A blog post by the company stated, “By keeping the data on the device, encrypting the data, and shielding the identities of our users as a core principle, BAT forms a bond with users that proves that not only does their data hold value, it holds substantial value that has been ignored and exploited by the middlemen year after year in the current industry model.”
The currency for these transactions? The Basic Attention Token, or BAT.
The Basic Attention Token
The Basic Attention Token, or BAT, will be the unit of exchange used by publishers, advertisers and users in this new digital advertising ecosystem. BATs are non-refundable, not securities or for speculation, nor is there any promise of future performance. According to the website, “BAT tokens are sold as a functional good”.
As per the whitepaper published by Brave, “In-device machine learning will match truly relevant ads to content from a level that middlemen with cookies and third party tracking are unable to achieve, regardless of how much the user data is extracted and monitored from external models.”
Ethereum technology
Ethereum was developed by Swiss nonprofit Ethereum Foundation, and is a blockchain-based platform that features smart contract functionality. According to Kraken CEO Jesse Powell, the cryptocurrency Ethereum is also one of the top three most actively traded cryptocurrencies.
The whitepaper explains that the Ethereum technology, which allows end users to create smart contracts for transactions, stores these contracts in the Ethereum blockchain.
In summary
Aptly named, Brave is embarking on a bold move to change the current digital advertising ecosystem, as well as bringing back the value of user attention.
CoinDesk stated that, “Although Brave is still, in effect, a middle-man – taking a share of the ad revenue – publishing the code to its Github page has the potential to lead to an ecosystem of ethereum-based browsers and other products based on attention that pay out micro-transactions in a variety of ways.”
The BAT website, on the other hand, has important questions left with “We will provide an answer soon,” so until then, this proposed ecosystem remains a concept. An Initial Coin Offering is most probably in the works as one of the questions that are unanswered refers to a “crowdsale”.
However, Brave is already moving forward and has started verifying publishers.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Pia Rivera, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.