Basic Attention (BAT): how it works, supply and reviews
In short
- Type
- ERC-20 token native to Ethereum
- Maximum supply
- 1,500,000,000 BAT
- Risks and caveats
- BAT confers no ownership, share, security or revenue-share rights in the BAT platform or Brave.
- Checked
- 1 November 2026
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Key facts
- Ticker
- BAT
- Network
- token on Ethereum
- Launched
- 2017-05
- Official site
- basicattentiontoken.org
- Whitepaper
- basicattentiontoken.org/static-assets/documents/BasicAttentionTokenWhitePaper-4.pdf
- Source code
- github.com/brave-intl/publishers
Data: CoinGecko, 2026-10-27. Only projects that still trade with meaningful volume are listed.
What is Basic Attention
Basic Attention Token (BAT) is an ERC-20 token created by Brave Software for the ad and rewards system of the Brave browser. Brave Rewards users can earn BAT for viewing opt-in, privacy-respecting ads and use it to support creators; advertisers use it to obtain ad placements.
Network and consensus
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | ERC-20 token native to Ethereum |
| Runs on | Ethereum and Solana (SPL token) |
| Launched | Token sale on 31 May 2017 |
Supply and issuance
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Maximum supply | 1,500,000,000 BAT |
| Initial distribution | 1 billion BAT sold, 200 million BAT development team pool, 300 million BAT user growth pool |
| Token sale | 1 billion BAT were sold for the equivalent of 156,250 ETH; no follow-on sale is planned |
What BAT is used for
- Earned by Brave Rewards users who opt in to view privacy-respecting ads in the Brave browser.
- Used to support creators on leading platforms.
- Used, for example, to acquire ad slots for privately matched, anonymously confirmed ads.
- Brave plans BAT buybacks from Roadmap 4.0-related revenue to fund user rewards, creator contributions and the UGP Reserve.
Who develops and governs Basic Attention
- Company
- Brave Software, Inc., San Francisco
- Founders
- Brendan Eich (Founder & CEO) and Brian Bondy (Founder & CTO)
- Open source
- The Brave Rewards and Brave Ads protocols and code are open source; the crowdsale contract code is on GitHub (brave-intl).
History
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2015 | Brave was co-founded by Brendan Eich and Brian Bondy. |
| September 2016 | Brave introduced the Brave Payments proof of concept, which later evolved into BAT and Brave Rewards. |
| 31 May 2017 | BAT token sale: 1 billion BAT sold at 6,400 BAT per ETH. |
| 20 July 2017 | BAT reported that some company BAT, including the User Growth Pool, was held in Parity multisig wallets affected by a critical vulnerability. |
| 10 February 2021 | Updated BAT whitepaper published by Brave Software. |
| 9 July 2026 | Brave published BAT Roadmap 4.0 (agentic payments, unified Brave Wallet, BravePay, Brave Rewards Card, Creator Contribution Protocol). |
Security and audits
- The BAT contract was deployed before the ERC-20 spec recommended throwing on invalid transfers; integrators need to handle its behaviour.
- BAT's FAQ says the Brave Rewards and Brave Ads protocols and code are open source and available for audit.
- On 20 July 2017 BAT reported that some company BAT, including the User Growth Pool, was held in Parity multisig wallets affected by a critical vulnerability and was moved to an address said to belong to the 'White Hat Group'.
Security incidents
| Date | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 20 July 2017 | Exploit: Third-party Parity multisig wallet vulnerability: BAT said some company BAT, including the User Growth Pool, was held in vulnerable wallets and was transferred without its knowledge to an address said to belong to the 'White Hat Group'. No ETH held by the BAT team was affected. Funds returned: not stated | basicattentiontoken.org |
Further incidents are reported by third parties (press, incident databases) but are not confirmed in the company’s own channels, so they are not listed here.
Official BAT contracts
| Network | Contract address |
|---|---|
| Ethereum | 0x0D8775F648430679A709E98d2b0Cb6250d2887EF |
| Solana | EPeUFDgHRxs9xxEPVaL6kfGQvCon7jmAWKVUHuux1Tpz |
Ethereum is the native contract; BAT's FAQ also names the Solana address.
Risks and caveats
- BAT confers no ownership, share, security or revenue-share rights in the BAT platform or Brave.
- On iOS, Brave Rewards can only be used to support creators.
- Payout account support for Brave Rewards varies by region.
- The BAT contract returns false instead of throwing on invalid transfers, which integrators need to handle.
Official links
- Website: basicattentiontoken.org
- Whitepaper: basicattentiontoken.org/static-assets/documents/BasicAttentionTokenWhitePaper-4.pdf
- Docs: basicattentiontoken.org/faq
- Block explorer: etherscan.io/token/0x0D8775F648430679A709E98d2b0Cb6250d2887EF
- Source code: github.com/brave-intl/basic-attention-token-crowdsale
- Blog: brave.com/blog/bat-roadmap-4-0
Questions and answers
What is Basic Attention Token (BAT)?
An ERC-20 token native to Ethereum, used in Brave Rewards: users earn it for opt-in ads and use it to support creators.
Where is the BAT whitepaper?
Brave Software's updated whitepaper (10 February 2021) is at basicattentiontoken.org/static-assets/documents/BasicAttentionTokenWhitePaper-4.pdf.
What is the maximum supply of BAT?
1,500,000,000 BAT: 1 billion sold, 200 million for the development team pool and 300 million for the user growth pool.
Who created BAT?
Brave Software, Inc.; its token sale took place on 31 May 2017.
Sources
- CoinGecko — Basic Attention
- Basic Attention Token — Overview
- Basic Attention Token — FAQ
- Brave Software — BAT whitepaper (10 February 2021)
- Brave — Brave Rewards
- Brave blog — BAT Roadmap 4.0 (9 July 2026)
- Brave — About
- Brave — Terms of Use
- Etherscan — BAT token
- GitHub — brave-intl/basic-attention-token-crowdsale
- BAT — Parity Multisig Wallet Attack and BAT (20 July 2017)
- Brave Community — brave://rewards-internals July/August 2020 Security Incident
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