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How to buy Basic Attention Token (BAT)

What it's about and where to get it.

Andrew Munro

Updated Aug 22, 2019

The Basic Attention Token (BAT) is a cryptocurrency designed specifically for use with the Brave web browser.

It aims to reshape the current landscape of the Internet, with a focus on eliminating malware, the unsustainable arms race between ad blockers and ads, and the expensive middlemen such as Facebook and Google which capture so much of the market.

Disclaimer: This information should not be interpreted as an endorsement of cryptocurrency or any specific provider, service or offering. It is not a recommendation to trade.

Where to buy BAT

Find out where and how to buy.

To buy BAT you will first need to buy bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH), and then trade that for BAT at these exchanges.
The coins accepted may vary depending on the exchange.
This involves creating an account on the exchange, and then sending coins from your wallet to that exchange. At this point, they can be exchanged for BAT.
After the exchange, your BAT will either be deposited to your account on the exchange or sent directly to the wallet address specified.
If you don’t already have BTC or ETH, you’ll need to get those first.
- How to buy BTC
- How to buy ETH
You can also download the Brave wallet to directly deposit ETH or BTC and have it directly converted to BAT on deposit.

Name	Deposit methods	Fiat Currencies	Cryptocurrencies
Binance Cryptocurrency Exchange	Credit card,Cryptocurrency,Debit card,Bank transfer (via third party)	USD, GBP, CAD, EUR, CNY, RUB, TRY, NGN, UAH, KZT & 23+ more	202 cryptocurrencies	Trade an extensive range of reputable coins on this world-renowned exchange, popular for its high liquidity and multi-language support. US residents: As of September 2019, US-based users can only trade USD on the American dollar onramp of Binance, Binance.US. UK residents: In addition to normal crypto trading services, Binance offers margin lending. As this is a regulated activity which they are not authorised to offer in the UK, we advise you not to use this service. If you're interested in margin trading, see authorised providers.	Go to site View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Kraken Cryptocurrency Exchange	Electronic Funds Transfer,Wire transfer,Osko,PayID,Ethana Custody	USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, CAD, CHF, AUD	34 cryptocurrencies	Buy, sell and trade a range of digital currencies on this high-liquidity exchange – suitable for beginners right through to advanced traders. UK residents: In addition to normal crypto trading, Kraken offers margin lending. As this is a regulated activity which they are not authorised to offer in the UK, we advise you not to use this service. If you're interested in margin trading, see authorised providers.	Go to site View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
CEX.IO Cryptocurrency Exchange	Bank transfer (ACH),Credit card,Bank transfer (SEPA), Faster Payments Service,Skrill	USD, EUR, GBP, RUB	23 cryptocurrencies	Disclaimer: Highly volatile investment product. Your capital is at risk. Use your USD, EUR or RUB to buy and sell cryptocurrency at competitive exchange rates and with high maximums for verified accounts.	Go to site View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Poloniex Digital Asset Exchange	Credit card,Cryptocurrency	USD, EUR, AUD, CAD, CHF, CZK, DKK, GBP, HUF, ILS & 20+ more	116 cryptocurrencies	Trade various coins through a global crypto to crypto exchange based in the US.	Go to site View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
CoinSwitch Cryptocurrency Exchange	Credit card,Cryptocurrency	USD, JPY, RUB, EUR	387 cryptocurrencies	CoinSwitch allows you to compare and convert over 250 cryptocurrencies across all exchanges.	Go to site View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Bitfinex Professional Trading Exchange	Cryptocurrency	USD, EUR, GBP, JPY	165 cryptocurrencies	Cryptocurrencies are a highly volatile investment product. Your capital is at risk. Spot trade all of the major cryptos on this full-featured exchange and margin trading platform.	Go to site View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
BitBay Cryptocurrency Exchange	Cryptocurrency,Express Polish Post Office 24/7,Wire transfer,GBP bank transfers	USD, EUR, PLN, GBP	40 cryptocurrencies	This Polish-based exchange offers a variety of accessible payment methods, including Express Polish Post Office 24/7 service and Express DotPay.	Go to site View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Changelly Crypto-to-Crypto Exchange	Credit card,Debit card	USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, CAD, CHF, HKD, JPY, PHP, ZAR & 30+ more	146 cryptocurrencies	Access competitive crypto-to-crypto exchange rates for 150+ cryptocurrencies on this global exchange.	Go to site View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Bibox Cryptocurrency Exchange	Cryptocurrency	EUR, GBP	111 cryptocurrencies	Trade crypto to crypto with a choice of over 100 currencies on this global exchange based in China.	Go to site View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
YoBit Cryptocurrency Exchange	AdvCash,Cryptocurrency,Payeer,Perfect Money,Capitalist	USD, RUB	1427 cryptocurrencies	Pay in USD, RUB or trade crypto to crypto at this Russian-based cryptocurrency exchange with hundreds of coins listed.	Go to site View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Coinbase Digital Currency Exchange	Bank transfer (ACH),Credit card,Debit card,Bank transfer (SEPA),Wire transfer	USD, EUR, GBP	24 cryptocurrencies	Buy and sell major cryptocurrencies on one of the world's most renowned cryptocurrency exchanges.	View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
OKEx Cryptocurrency Exchange	Bank transfer,Cryptocurrency,WeChat	USD, CNY, EUR, ARS, AUD, BGN, BRL, CAD, CHF, COP & 20+ more	269 cryptocurrencies	Listing over 100 cryptocurrencies, OKEx offers its users a variety of payment methods and coins to choose from.	View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Huobi Cryptocurrency Exchange	Cryptocurrency	GBP, USD, AUD, EUR, INR, BRL, KHR, CAD,CNY, NZD & 15+MORE	234 cryptocurrencies	Huobi is a digital currency exchange that allows its users to trade more than 190 cryptocurrency pairs.	View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Bithumb Cryptocurrency Exchange	Cryptocurrency,Wire transfer	KRW	103 cryptocurrencies	A global platform where users can make KRW and cryptocurrency deposits to purchase up to 15 popular cryptocurrencies.	View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Bittrex Digital Currency Exchange	Cryptocurrency,Wire transfer	USD	278 cryptocurrencies	Buy from one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges with a selection of over 190+ cryptocurrencies and 3 USD pairings.	View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
ShapeShift Cryptocurrency Exchange	Cryptocurrency	-	51 cryptocurrencies	Quickly swap between more than 40 cryptocurrency assets or use your credit card to instantly buy bitcoin.	View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Bitit Cryptocurrency Marketplace	Cash,Credit card,Debit card,Neosurf,Bank transfer (SEPA)	EUR, USD, JPY, DKK, GBP, SEK, NOK, TRY & 5+ more	50 cryptocurrencies	Buy cryptocurrency with cash or credit card and get express delivery in as little as 10 minutes.	View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
IDEX Cryptocurrency Exchange	Cryptocurrency	-	257 cryptocurrencies	A decentralised cryptocurrency exchange where you can trade over 250 ERC20 tokens.	View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...

Compare up to 4 providers

How Basic Attention Token works

BAT and the Brave browser work hand in hand. This browser lets users opt into ads and blocks ads for anyone that didn’t opt in.

Users that opt into ads will be rewarded with BAT tokens for doing so and shown content to specifically match their interests.

The goal is to persuade people to willingly accept advertising, with the understanding that it’s high quality, potentially useful and that they’re getting paid for it. In turn, advertisers can get better results from higher quality products more closely tailored to individual users.

Meanwhile, publishers can successfully monetise sites without needing to give up the lion’s share of profits to middlemen like Google AdSense.

If it all works as planned, the end result is a win-win-win for users, advertisers and publishers and an incentive for all to participate.

How BAT tokens are distributed

There’s a total limit of 1.5 billion BAT tokens, of which 1 billion are in circulation. There is no inflation.

BAT will be circulated and divided among the winners:

Users: Users are the viewers that opt-in to advertising on the Brave platform. They receive a small portion of the Basic Attention Tokens distributed for their attention. They can use BAT to sell, tip publishers, purchase premium Brave services, or anything else they want.

Advertisers: Advertisers pay BAT to capture a user’s attention.

Publishers: Publishers are the YouTube content creators, website operators and similar. They earn the majority of BAT involved in a transaction.

One of the main differences between BAT and fiat currency advertising models is that the Brave browser is specifically designed to facilitate higher quality advertising. This means more compelling ad content for users that they’re more likely to watch.

For advertisers, it means better returns on investment through higher audience retention, more accurate tailoring of content to a reader’s interest and more effective tracking of audience engagement. These measurements are facilitated through the following:

Machine learning algorithms that track user interests and show matching ads.
An “Attention Value” for each ad, calculated by duration and pixels in view in proportion to relevant content, prior to any direct engagement with the ad. In other words, an ad is more valuable the longer someone sits and watches it before committing to a click.

What to consider before buying BAT

BAT wasn’t designed to be bought and sold. Its creators specifically say as much and haven’t gone to any particular effort to get it listed on exchanges. This hasn’t prevented it from being listed on a wide range of popular exchanges though.

Depending on how you look at it, this might be a great reason to get involved or a reason to stay away.

The browser market is hotly contested, and Brave is among the dozens of browsers with a market share of a fraction of a percent. Since BAT is designed for use on the Brave browser, you will need to decide if this will affect the widespread use of BAT.

Persuading people to change browsers isn’t easy either. Just look at Microsoft’s concerted efforts to push people to the Edge browser, then consider the fact that the older Microsoft Internet Explorer still has around three times the market share of Edge.

Advertiser’s will need to consider whether Brave will be able to attract a diverse user base and whether people will actually opt into ads.

You may also decide that directly monetising user engagement is enough to put a solid lid on the size of BAT’s potential userbase.

The actual functions of Brave and BAT (ad blocking, machine learning algorithms to determine user interests, various measurements of user engagement) also exist in various forms already, and despite the disruption that blockchain brings, Google will probably fight to keep its share of the ad market.

Traders will also need to consider the possibility of users “mining” BAT through the deliberate viewing of ads on multiple devices, manipulating the algorithm to trigger larger rewards. If BAT ever becomes valuable, you will need to give these issues serious consideration.

Take a look at the current value, the coin supply and the future of the market, and consider whether it might still be undervalued despite all the problems.

Disclaimer: Cryptocurrencies are speculative, complex and involve significant risks – they are highly volatile and sensitive to secondary activity. Performance is unpredictable and past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Consider your own circumstances, and obtain your own advice, before relying on this information. You should also verify the nature of any product or service (including its legal status and relevant regulatory requirements) and consult the relevant Regulators' websites before making any decision. Finder, or the author, may have holdings in the cryptocurrencies discussed.

Thank you for your feedback!

Andrew Munro

Andrew Munro is the cryptocurrency editor at Finder. He was initially writing about insurance, when he accidentally fell in love with digital currency and distributed ledger technology (aka “the blockchain”). Andrew has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New South Wales, and has written guides about everything from industrial pigments to cosmetic surgery.

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How to buy Basic Attention Token (BAT)