We would like to take a moment to thank all of our users and supporters for an amazing 2017, and we look forward to welcoming what is sure to be an exciting 2018.
As such, we thought it appropriate to share some of what we achieved together in the past year and what we are looking forward to in the new year.
Brave Browser + Basic Attention Token Platform:
- Users:
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- Over 1 million monthly active users at the end of 2017.
- 31% desktop users and 69% mobile users.
- Majority of users reside in the U.S. and the EU.
- The growth rate is strong and we anticipate millions more by the end of 2018.
- Token Creation:
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- Sold 1 billion utility tokens for approximately $36 million in less than 30 seconds on May 31, 2017.
- Set aside 300 million tokens in the User Growth Pool (UGP) for use to bring users and publishers onto the platform.
- Publishers and Partners:
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- Over 2,500 websites verified in 2017, bringing the overall number of Brave Publishers (including YouTube creators) to over 4,000.
- Over 1,400 YouTube creators registered after we announced they could directly receive tokens. We plan more programs to directly support creators on other platforms in 2018.
- Formed a partnership for private browsing with DuckDuckGo. We also partnered with Uphold to facilitate Brave Payments. More partnerships are in the works and will be announced throughout 2018.
- Token Programs:
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- User Grants: About 10,000 users received 300,000 tokens in less than 30 hours. We plan more and larger user grants in 2018 from the UGP.
- We will soon release more programs that directly involve users and publishers in an effort to expand the use and utility the platform.
- Product:
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- BAT was integrated into Brave Payments in October 2017. It allows users to reward publishers by “pinning” specific amounts to them or by allowing the browser to automatically and anonymously disseminate a monthly budget pro rata based and/or pinned by percentage to sites visited. Brave Payments provides the ability to hold, send and convert BAT — facilitated through a partnership with Uphold.
- Created the ability of Brave users to donate directly to YouTube creators.
- In 2018, we will bring BAT features to mobile platforms and will launch private ads that pay users.
- Community:
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- Brave Browser Github Development: 161 Browser-laptop contributors, 78 iOS contributors and 9 Android contributors.
- Brave Community: 7.7k total users, with over 467k page views in December 2017.
- 51 BAT Regional Leaders, covering 37 regions.
- Award: Team wins Ethereum hackathon in Waterloo, Ontario with integration of Metamask.
Select 2017 News Clips:
- Bloomberg: Google and Facebook Too Can Be Disrupted — “I have long considered today’s internet advertising model a scam: It’s a system in which giant, monopolistic companies — Google and Facebook — are selling inflated user numbers and overhyped targeting opportunities to advertisers while collecting way too much information about users and cheating content creators out of their fair share of revenue.”
- The Sunday Times: Gunning for Google — “Brendan Eich, the internet guru, is building a new browser called Brave — one that is free from unwanted ads and sneaky tricks to skim your personal data. The internet, he said, has degenerated into a “baffling ordeal” of pop-up windows, sneaky tracking software and a relentless stream of unwanted ads.”
- Cnet: Brave Browser Lets You Pay Your Favorite YouTube Stars — “It’s all part of Brave’s attempt to rewrite the rules of online advertising. Today’s online ads are often supplied by a witches’ brew of advertising intermediaries that Brave wants to supplant with a system that keeps your online behavior data private.”
- VentureBeat: Ad-blocking browser Brave courts new users with free crypto tokens — “We are discussing deals with top US and UK publishers who see the problems of the Google/Facebook ‘duopoly’ as well as the inefficient, fraud-plagued ad tech ‘Lumascape’.”
Favorite 2017 Quote: “The days of giving digital a pass are over. It’s time to grow up. It’s time for action… [We don’t] want to waste time and money on a crappy media supply chain.” Michael Pritchard, Chief Brand Officer, P&G (largest advertiser in the world), in AdAge.
Again, thank you all for making these achievements possible, helping us to create a faster, safer, more private browser while reforming digital advertising. It is only together that we can truly create a movement to make a Better Web.
And remember, we’re hiring worldwide, so please check out our job listings if you’d like to join us!
