Basic Attention Token (BAT) is the native utility token of the Brave ecosystem, powering a revolutionary privacy-focused digital advertising platform that rewards users for viewing privacy-respecting ads while ensuring publishers and content creators receive a significantly larger share of ad revenue compared to traditional models. Developed by Brendan Eich (creator of JavaScript and co-founder of Mozilla) and Brian Bondy, BAT integrates directly with the Brave browser, which blocks trackers and invasive ads by default while delivering opt-in, user-controlled Brave Ads. Users earn BAT for viewing relevant ads based on their attention, publishers receive BAT proportional to user engagement, and advertisers pay in BAT for targeted campaigns, all processed through an open-source,
Ethereum-based system with audited
smart contracts. The token enables microtransactions for tipping creators, supporting premium content, and participating in ecosystem governance, creating a transparent, user-centric advertising economy that prioritizes privacy, fair compensation, and the elimination of middlemen in digital advertising.
When Did Basic Attention Token Launch?
Basic Attention Token was founded in 2017 by Brendan Eich and Brian Bondy, launching its BAT token through an
ICO in May 2017 that raised $35 million in under 30 seconds, reflecting strong early interest in the project's vision. The Brave browser with BAT integration rolled out gradually, reaching 1 million monthly active users by 2018, 50 million by 2021, and over 60 million by 2025. Key milestones include the full launch of Brave Rewards in 2019, introduction of Brave Search in 2021 as a privacy-preserving alternative to Google, and 2025 expansions with enhanced ad matching algorithms, improved creator tipping tools, multi-chain support, and increased publisher adoption, establishing BAT as a mature and widely-used utility token in the privacy-focused advertising space by December 2025.
What Are the Key Features of Basic Attention Token?
Basic Attention Token powers Brave Ads, a privacy-respecting advertising system that blocks trackers and invasive ads while rewarding users with BAT for opt-in ad views, allowing publishers to receive up to 70% of ad revenue directly. The Brave browser includes built-in ad-blocking, tracker protection, HTTPS Everywhere, Tor integration for private browsing, and a seamless rewards system that pays users in BAT for attention. BAT enables direct creator tipping and support, microtransactions for premium content,
staking-like rewards for user attention, audited security through Ethereum smart contracts, and governance participation for ecosystem decisions, all designed to fix the broken digital advertising model with transparency, privacy, fair compensation, and user control in a decentralized advertising economy.
What Is BAT Used For?
BAT is used for earning rewards by viewing privacy-respecting ads in the Brave browser, tipping and supporting content creators directly without intermediaries, paying for premium features or content access with BAT, staking for potential ecosystem rewards and governance participation, providing liquidity in
DeFi pools for additional yields, and engaging in community governance decisions related to ad policies, platform development, and treasury allocation.
What Is the BAT Token Utility?
BAT serves as the reward and incentive token for users viewing Brave Ads, the payment medium for creator tipping and content support, a value capture mechanism from advertising revenue distributed to users and publishers, a staking asset for potential ecosystem rewards and governance influence, a liquidity asset in DeFi pools, and a governance token for community input on ad policies, platform direction, and development, creating a closed-loop economy that aligns incentives across users, creators, advertisers, and the broader Brave ecosystem.
What Blockchain Does Basic Attention Token Operate On?
BAT is an
ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain, benefiting from Ethereum's robust security, smart contract capabilities, and extensive ecosystem while integrated directly into the Brave browser for seamless user experience across desktop and mobile devices.
What Are BAT Tokenomics?
BAT has a fixed maximum supply of 1.5 billion tokens to promote long-term scarcity and value preservation, with approximately 1.49 billion in circulation as of December 2025 following vesting schedules, community distributions, and reward emissions. The allocation prioritizes user rewards and ad ecosystem incentives, creator support programs, team and advisor vesting over multiple years for alignment, liquidity provision for market stability, and treasury reserves for ongoing development, security audits, marketing initiatives, and strategic partnerships, with no ongoing inflation and potential deflationary pressure from ecosystem buybacks and burns.