29th April 2022 > > Brave Browser.

tl;dr

You should all be using Brave Browser. Do it now.

Market Snap (at time of writing)

Market Wrap

BTC oscillating around $40k for the last week but with much of that time spent below that level. Despite a couple of short squeezes there doesn’t feel that there is much impetus for a decisive break to the upside whilst genocidal Putin continues his mission to destroy his own land forces.

Curious Cryptos’ Commentary – Brave Browser and Basic Attention Token (BAT)

Now briefly ensconced back in CC Towers in Stokie, I had to put my IT hat back on and install the replacement equipment following the establishment of our first overseas office in Inverie, Knoydart.

Whilst doing so, I was forcefully reminded of the benefits of using Brave Browser, and its associated crypto, Basic Attention Token (BAT). Brave is just one of the processes of decentralisation that is enabled by blockchain technology. All crypto enthusiasts should be involved. Let me explain why.

First up is this piece of marketing, courtesy of Brave:

Also, from its website is this:

“The Brave Browser, Brave Search, and all their various features are made by Brave Software Inc, an independent, privately-held company. Brave is not beholden to any other tech company, and works every single day to fight Big Tech’s terrible privacy abuses. Brave exists to protect the individual”.

Stirring stuff indeed.

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The core criticism of Web 2.0 is the centralisation of power and control amongst just a few tech titans.

I find it instructive to look at the furore over Elon Musk’s plans to take Twitter private.

Twitter’s self-imposed self-censorship policies are truly illiberal and not becoming of supporters of free speech. I am not suggesting for one moment that Elon owning Twitter is a move towards decentralisation of Twitter (though one hopes that given his public support of crypto tech a move such as that is surely in his long term plans) but the vocal screams of anguish from some self-interested parties as they lose control over such an influential platform should make everyone pause for thought.

Web 3.0 will mark a fundamental shift away from the tech titans by putting control over data, and the associated advertising revenue streams, back into the hands of individuals for their own personal and monetary benefit.

Brave Browser is one of the first steps to those sunny up lit lands.

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If that isn’t reason enough to get involved, you can also earn crypto in the form of BAT. Since the beginning of 2020 I have earnt 325 BAT by using Brave Browser, which at the current price of 52p is the princely sum of £169.

I agree that this sum of money does not change the dial, but it is a nice lunch out for two people, and I am yet to meet anyone who does not like a free lunch sipping a glass or two of rosé in the sunshine.

And for those of us who believe that BTC is destined for a 40x increase in price with successful alts looking at 100x or more, if BAT does fall into the latter category my current BAT earnings would be valued at £17,000.

Not a bad return for retaining one’s privacy rather than letting a tech titan monetise it instead.

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Those are my thoughts.

Here are the practicalities if you agree with me.

1. Download Brave Browser from here https://brave.com/.

2. Install the browser – if you need a helping hand let me know.

All well and good, now we get to the crypto bit.

You will need to set up a web-based wallet – either Uphold or Gemini. I am more familiar with Uphold which is a decentralised hot wallet. Gemini looks to me like a centralised hot wallet so out of the two my choice is Uphold.

Head over to https://uphold.com/en-gb/apps and install the wallet.

Note during the setup process you will be given a 12-word private key. Enthusiasts of cryptography who have read the early modules of our free online training course (https://www.curiouscryptos.com/cccourses) understand that this private key gives themselves and no-one else access to their wallet, absent phishing attacks or other scams. Which incidentally are also extensively discussed in our training course.

It is then a simple matter to link your Brave Browser with your Uphold wallet and away you go earning BAT for being presented with a limited number of adverts whilst retaining your privacy.

If you have any issues or problems let me know – I would be delighted to try to resolve them for you. Just remember, there are no dumb questions in the crypto space.

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I have just two criticisms I should make plain.

For now, one cannot earn BAT using Brave on a phone or a tablet. This is a serious shortcoming that I hope will be addressed soon. Meanwhile, one can still benefit from all the privacy privileges of using Brave on your mobile whilst also depriving the tech titans from using your data for their benefit, not yours.

It is also the case that for the Brave/Uphold collaboration once you have verified just four PCs, Macs or laptops (I use six in total in addition to two iPads, which I must admit comes across as a touch nerdy) then you can verify no more. At that point to continue to earn BAT you will need a Gemini wallet too.