Earn money and anonymity with Brave, Opera and Co.

Browsers are part of everyday life in our digitized world. Many of us use them daily to browse the web. The browser sends a so-called HTTP request to the server where the desired website is located. The server then returns the content stored on the server. These can then be seen on the screen. Actually quite simple. But what are crypto browsers?

What are crypto browsers?

Simply put, a crypto browser or blockchain browser is any browser that supports web 3.0 technologies such as blockchain, DeFi, smart contracts, and dApps. In the words of Polkadot founder and Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood, this means a “decentralized online ecosystem built on the blockchain.” The goal of Web 3.0 is to achieve decentralization by eliminating intermediaries, like the protest movement. In particular, avoid big data octopuses like Amazon, which annually store millions of terabytes of personal data for their own economic benefit.

By using blockchain technology in data transactions, Web 3.0 technology does not have to explicitly gain the trust of intervening entities. For example, a smart contract can replace the notary when selling a house. This saves costs and time.

So far, the world of crypto has been difficult to grasp, especially for newcomers. New browsers bridge a gap between traditional Web 2.0 and decentralized Web 3.0 by making decentralized protocols accessible through a familiar interface. They thus offer an important gateway to the decentralized ecosystem, with higher security and privacy than ever before.

The three biggest crypto browsers under the magnifying glass

Opera Crypto Browser for Web 3.0 (Beta)

Like almost all crypto browsers, the Opera browser via an integrated wallet that can be used to buy, sell or store cryptocurrencies. It also allows easy access to dApps. The wallet supports ETH, ERC-20, and ERC-721 tokens, as well as many blockchains including Bitcoin, Ethereum, EVM-enabled chains, and Layer 2 solutions.

Opera wants to combine easy web browsing with access to dApps and Metaverse platforms. To this end, Opera has partnered with major ecosystems and blockchains, including Polygon, Solana, Unstoppable Domains, Handshake, ENS, and many more.

Security and privacy are top priorities for all crypto browsers. In the Opera browser, it is possible to surf the Internet without anyone watching you using the built-in VPN and ad and tracker blockers. According to Opera, these functions should also speed up surfing.

In the also integrated Coin Crypto learn about the latest blockchain news and trends.

So far, Opera is only available in beta and mobile version only for Android. The version for iOS is currently under development.

Unlike Brave, Opera does not currently offer its own token that users can earn using the browser.

Brave for more privacy on the web

The crypto browser brave advertises its product with the highest possible security on the web. It blocks ads and trackers by default, as well as third-party data storage and IP address collection. Brave protects against browser fingerprinting and always uses a secure HTTPS connection.

According to Brave, the browser is three times faster than Chrome because a lot of unwanted content is simply blocked and therefore not loaded.

It is also possible to earn money in the form of BAT through the Brave Rewards program. BAT is a crypto asset and stands for Basic attention token. The name of the token can be explained as follows: big technology companies use your data to draw your attention to advertising through personalized advertising. The founders of Brave believe that attention is an important commodity. Of course, because attention increases efficiency, and high efficiency often translates to more money. For every ad you voluntarily watch through the Brave browser, BAT coins are credited to your wallet. You can keep BAT like any other crypto asset or use it to tip content publishers. One BAT currently corresponds to 0.8158 euros.

Fulldive: the world’s first social browser

full dive brings content, commerce, and community together through search, crypto, and chat rooms. For more transparency, it is possible to rate and comment on each website. Fulldive offers better interaction between social media, news websites and video streaming platforms by offering everything in a single in-browser interface.

Here, too, great importance is attached to user safety. Fulldive blocks ads, trackers and pop-ups that misuse your data. Similar to Brave, the speed is up to eight times faster than conventional browsers, according to Fulldive.

You can also earn money with Fulldive Browser by doing small tasks. All you have to do is invite friends, participate in polls or watch sponsored videos. 100,000 fulldive coins can be earned in about three to four weeks with regular use. They then correspond to around ten euros and can be exchanged directly for Ether or Bitcoin Cash.

So far, Fulldive is only available for smartphones, for iOS and Android.

drawbacks and criticisms

Theoretically, you can make money with Fulldive and Brave. However, that’s not a lot. For money laundering prevention reasons, BAT can only be paid out in Germany if the coins are transferred to external wallets or crypto exchanges. Brave offers two integrated service providers (Uphold and Gemini) for the transaction. The problem is that they are not available in Germany. Additionally, transaction costs are quite high and customers complain about Uphold’s lack of support. Unfortunately, you cannot charge your BAT at this time. However, we assume that a solution will soon be in sight. You only need to be careful when uninstalling Brave. If you don’t transfer your collected BAT tokens, they will disappear when you uninstall your browser.

Opera was sold in 2016 by the Norwegian founders to a Chinese consortium of Golden Brick Silk Road II Equity Fund sold. This means that Opera pays taxes to an authoritarian regime and in some way supports human rights abuses.