The Basic Attention Token sold out moments after the token offering commenced, netting developers a solid $36 million.
In an unprecedented event, the token offering to back the privacy-focused Brave Browser has broken records, raising 156,250 Ether or approximately $36 million in a mere 24 seconds. All in all, the developers were able to fundraise more than a million dollars for every second the sale was live.
No token offering has been as measurably successful thus far, and the funding will go a long way towards the Brave Browser's development of the BAT team, contractors, administration, contingency plans, and marketing campaigns. BAT's white paper provides budgetary percentage guidelines:
The BAT token offering went live this morning when mining commenced on Ethereum block 3,798,640 and was originally designed to last until 156,250 Ether was raised. If the Ether cap wasn't met, the token offering would end when mining commenced on Ethereum block 3,963,480. In the 24 seconds that ensued from the initial kickoff of the token offering, demand for BAT tokens overwhelmed servers.
A small fraction of those who wished to participate was able to, and BAT disbursement seems lopsided; one individual owns 25 percent of the currency. A breakdown of the current disbursement of BAT tokens is available here:
The Brave Browser is open sourced and blocks mal-advertisements. The browser tracks user attention and rewards publishers who garner it accordingly with BATs. Users are shielded with anonymity from both advertisers and publishers by an algorithm developed for the Brave Browser called ANONIZE. BAT rewards paid to users who observe advertisements are also based on the number of pixels in view and the duration of the ad. In turn, BATs are bought by advertisers to fund marketing campaigns.
Now that the token offering has culminated, there are reverberations in the community. One reddit user on the fringe has said that the majority of small-time investors without large sums to throw at a token offering was forcefully cut out by whale investors, and is calling for an all-out boycott of BAT tokens.
In turn, a less extreme opinion on reddit sees the successful sale as an opportunity to drive mass adoption, pointing to the likelihood of mass-media coverage of the offering.
Regardless of public opinion, the Brave Browser will need to stand up to the test of time, which will determine whether its marketability and function match the fundraising effort
