As of the end of August, 2019, Brave is the web browser of choice in Japan.

More than 2 million people in the country are now using the web browser. Overall, Brave is on more than 10 million devices, meaning Japanese people account for approximately 20% of all users. The accomplishment is quite a feat for a blockchain-based application. Many believe it’s a sign that the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies is inevitable. Brave is backed by users via the Basic Attention Token (BAT). BAT allows web surfers to earn tokens just for viewing privacy-respecting advertisements. Content creators earn revenue through donations from other users. Users can also choose to surf in an ad-free environment. No third-party ad blockers or plug-ins are required. The browser also uses less RAM than more popular browsers like Google Chrome and Apple’s Safari, making browsing speed faster while using less of a device’s resources.

Can Brave Become King of the Jungle?

Having 2 million people in one country using a web browser that is just a few years old is indeed an accomplishment. However, Brave still has a long way to go to challenge Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Safari’s downloads. Of the three, Firefox ranks lowest on the list yet the platform still has over 100 million downloads. It will take some time to get there and more and more people are going to have to get comfortable using cryptocurrency. Maybe not right at first since knowledge of cryptocurrency is not a requirement to use the browser. But eventually, in order to take money out of the hands of centralized organizations like Google and Apple, people are going to have to pay for content using tokens.

This might seem like quite the hurdle in the technology space given that most people are comfortable with the platforms they are currently using and don’t want to go out of their way to change. But the cool thing about Brave is that the web browser automatically tracks the amount of time spent viewing content. The content creator receives a tip for their work based on the amount of attention they’re receiving from users. The individual user browsing their favorite websites doesn’t have to do anything. The setup is a total game changer and a huge advantage for Brave in the race for adoption. People who are comfortable with platforms they have been using for decades now have incentive to switch. The only thing they need to do to switch his download the browser and start using it.

The Driving Force behind Brave

Brave’s skyrocketing download numbers are certainly a reason for supporters of the project to be confident about both its present and future potential. Not only is it currently getting more downloads than Firefox in Japan, it’s actually among the top 10 downloads in the Google Play store in the country. Brave is even getting more downloads than the top ad blocker.

The real driving force behind the project however goes beyond the platform itself. It’s about the people behind it, namely CEO Brendan Eich and CTO Brian Bondy. Eich invented the JavaScript programming language that the Internet as people know it is practically built on. Bondy is one of the cofounders of Mozilla Firefox. He more than anybody would know how to build the browser that’s better than one he previously built.

All of this is why Brave and its BAT token may just be one of the few altcoins to come out of the woodwork among the thousands of projects that are trading on the open market today. It’s proving it has real value to users. Expect the members to keep going up as society continues to stand up in the name of data privacy rights and more and more people start showing off their level of bravery.

Article Produced By
Jack Choros

https://cryptoradar.org/brave-web-browser/