What is Basic Attention Token (BAT)?

BAT is the token that runs the reward system inside the Brave web browser. If you opt in, Brave shows you privacy-respecting ads and pays you BAT for the attention you chose to give. You can then keep that BAT or tip it to the creators and sites you enjoy.

Does BAT have its own blockchain?

No. BAT is a utility token with no chain of its own. It is an ERC-20 token that lives on Ethereum, and it has also been bridged to Solana as SPL-BAT for self-custody payouts. Its job is to move value inside Brave, not to run a network.

Who created BAT, and when?

BAT was made by Brave Software, co-founded by Brendan Eich (the creator of JavaScript and a former Mozilla CEO) and Brian Bondy. It launched in a token sale on May 31, 2017, which raised about 156,250 ETH (around 35 million dollars at the time) in under 30 seconds.

How many BAT will ever exist?

The supply is fixed at 1.5 billion BAT and no new tokens are minted. At the 2017 sale, 1 billion went to buyers, 200 million to the development team, and 300 million to a User Growth Pool to reward new Brave users. About 1.495 billion are circulating as of 2026.

You can earn it by turning on Brave Rewards in the Brave browser, or buy it on most major crypto exchanges. It is a small, swingy token, so only try a little. (Information only, not advice to use any particular exchange or to invest.)

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📒 Codex · Brave browser reward token

Basic Attention Token BAT

the attention sprite that pays you to look

🎭 a hooded browser companion that turns the ads you allow into coins, then passes them on to the creators you like

💸 Payment🕶️ Privacy

ALTROOKIE CODEX

💬 “Most browsers sell your attention behind your back. I do the opposite: you choose to glance, I count it privately on your own device, and I hand you a coin for it. Keep it, or tip it to a creator you love.”

💬 TL;DR

What it is: the reward token inside the Brave privacy browser, paid to people who opt in to see private ads.
2017: Brave's token sale raised about 156,250 ETH (~$35M at the time) in under 30 seconds.
Made by: Brave Software, co-founded by Brendan Eich, the creator of JavaScript and a former Mozilla CEO.
Fixed supply of 1.5 billion BAT, no new tokens minted; an ERC-20 token that rides on Ethereum.

📖 The Story

In 2015, Brendan Eich and Brian Bondy left Mozilla and started Brave Software. Eich was not a newcomer: he had invented JavaScript and once run Mozilla. Their complaint was simple. On the normal web, ads track you everywhere, the page loads slowly, and the money flows to ad networks in the middle while you and the creators you read get almost nothing.

Brave's answer was a browser that blocks trackers by default, and a token to flip the deal around. On May 31, 2017, that token went on sale. Buyers poured in about 156,250 ETH, worth roughly $35 million at the time, and the whole sale closed in under 30 seconds. The token had a name that said the idea out loud: Basic Attention Token. Attention was the thing being bought and sold, so why not pay the person whose attention it is?

In 2018, BAT went live inside Brave Rewards. If you switch it on, Brave shows you occasional ads that respect your privacy, the matching happens on your own device rather than on a company server, and you collect BAT for the ones you choose to view. You can keep it, or tip it to your favorite sites and creators with a click.

BAT never tried to be its own blockchain. It is a plain token that lives on someone else's chain and does one job well: move small amounts of value between advertisers, viewers, and creators. Later it was bridged to Solana as SPL-BAT so people could hold and receive rewards there too.

📊 Stats

🛡️Privacy Ads matched on your device

🔌Real use Powers a shipping product

💎Scarcity Fixed 1.5B, none minted

🌐Reach Tied to Brave's user base

🎢Volatility Small-cap price swings

🧩 How it works

BAT is an ERC-20 token on Ethereum, so it borrows Ethereum's security instead of running a chain of its own. The money moves in a circle around one hub: an advertiser funds a campaign in BAT, your Brave browser matches and counts the ad privately on your own device, that BAT lands in your wallet, and you can pass it on as a tip to a creator — whose content keeps you in the browser where the next ad is shown.

🔁 📣 An advertiser funds BAT → 🦁 Brave counts your attention privately → 👁️ you earn it → 🎨 you tip a creator, and the loop comes around again.

🌗 Light & Shadow

🌕 Light

A real, shipping product. Unlike many tokens, BAT does a clear job today inside a browser that millions actually use
Privacy by design. The ad matching runs on your own device, so the system can pay you without shipping your browsing history to a server
Strong founders. Brendan Eich created JavaScript and once led Mozilla, which gives the project rare browser credibility

🌑 Shadow

Its fate is tied to one product. If Brave does not keep growing, demand for BAT has little else to lean on
No chain of its own. As an ERC-20 token it inherits Ethereum's gas fees and has no independent network to point to
The rewards a single user earns are small, and being a small-cap token, BAT's price can swing hard on thin trading

🧬 Evolution lineage

BAT is not a fork of any coin and is not its own Layer 1. It is an ERC-20 token issued on Ethereum, a sibling to other ERC-20 utility tokens, bound to the Brave browser product rather than to another coin's codebase.

Ξ Ethereum 🦁 BAT (ERC-20) ◎ Solana (SPL-BAT)

🧭 Meet other friends

Ξ Ethereum ◎ Solana

See the whole codex →

❓ FAQ

What is Basic Attention Token (BAT)?: BAT is the token that runs the reward system inside the Brave web browser. If you opt in, Brave shows you privacy-respecting ads and pays you BAT for the attention you chose to give. You can then keep that BAT or tip it to the creators and sites you enjoy.
Does BAT have its own blockchain?: No. BAT is a utility token with no chain of its own. It is an ERC-20 token that lives on Ethereum, and it has also been bridged to Solana as SPL-BAT for self-custody payouts. Its job is to move value inside Brave, not to run a network.
Who created BAT, and when?: BAT was made by Brave Software, co-founded by Brendan Eich (the creator of JavaScript and a former Mozilla CEO) and Brian Bondy. It launched in a token sale on May 31, 2017, which raised about 156,250 ETH (around 35 million dollars at the time) in under 30 seconds.
How many BAT will ever exist?: The supply is fixed at 1.5 billion BAT and no new tokens are minted. At the 2017 sale, 1 billion went to buyers, 200 million to the development team, and 300 million to a User Growth Pool to reward new Brave users. About 1.495 billion are circulating as of 2026.
Where can I get BAT?: You can earn it by turning on Brave Rewards in the Brave browser, or buy it on most major crypto exchanges. It is a small, swingy token, so only try a little. (Information only, not advice to use any particular exchange or to invest.)

⚠️ Not investment advice. All figures are for information only.