Hi all, this is my first post on Steemit, so take it easy on me. :)
When investing in this crypto space, I tend to think in traditional investment terms. I've been a fairly successful stock-market investor over the years (I'm a 41 year old geezer & been trading since I was 20).
When choosing a "stock" to invest in, I base my decision on factors like P/E ratios, net profit, the amount of cash a company has on hand, etc... The problem is that a lot of those rational evaluation metrics don't quite apply to the crypto space. That said, I would argue that "some" of the traditional strategies in picking winners do apply... or, if they do not apply now, they unavoidably will after an eventual "shakedown" crash where only those projects with "real" products & adoption will survive the cull. This fully speculative market is rather insane and I predict will end at some point. Unfortunately, lots of folks will be left with empty pockets as a result (just like in the dot com rush of the late 90's).
All to say that I believe it's best to base investing decisions on what we see as real "value" (not just potential).
So... that brings me to a token that caught my "basic attention" (sorry, horrible pun!) - BAT. In looking at a few factors, I believe this is one of the few Tokens out there that is undervalued, and has real "value".
This is my rationale (mind you I'm no expert, these are just my thoughts)-
THE PRICE IS RIGHT.
The first thing I noticed was that the BAT price hasn't shot up (yet). In fact, it's been pretty stagnant since the post ICO hype. That's good, it (unlike most coins) hasn't had it's moon-shot yet. No hype = good. Team is busy at work building rather than hyping.
THEIR BROWSER EXISTS, IT'S REAL, IT KICKS ASS.
Second, I was floored (yes, floored) when I gave their browser (called Brave) a test-drive. It's more user-friendly and faster than any other browser in existence. It's LIGHTNING fast. What they've done is cut out the "junk" (i.e. cookies) that lurk in the background and slow things down. Small details such as showing "previews" when scrolling over the tabs helps make it a more intuitive browsing experience than chrome. I believe it has a great shot at mass adoption because it improves the browsing experience by saving us time, and time is our most precious resource. Yes, they've built a better mouse-trap.
A REAL ALL-STAR TEAM OF PROVEN WINNERS
Third, although all projects out there flout their "team" - this one is on a whole other planet. These guys are proven winners that have built grand-slam products adopted by the masses. Their founder: Brendan Eich created Java script & co-founded Mozilla & Firefox (really, not joking). Others come from heavy-hitters such as Evernote & Yahoo. I don't believe there is another team out there that is anywhere near this one's playing field.
DISRUPTING THE BROKEN ADS MODEL
Fourth, and this is a biggy, is that these guys are out to fix a "broken" advertising system. Or, rather, they want to "revolutionize" it. Everyone's turning on ad-blockers these days because we hate the pop-up ad distractions. The reason we hate them is because they distract us without adding value (or very rarely do). On the brave browser, there are NO ads. That said, user can opt to reward the companies behind the websites they like with small monthly donations (this is optional). The brave browser tells you which sites you visit the most, and offers you the opportunity to help them out (again, this is your choice). Imagine that- voluntarily rewarding companies you actually like instead of having annoying pop-ups thrown at you. I believe most people (myself included) would throw 5$ a month to companies we like and respect (i.e. a news site we read everyday). Hallelujah!
THE TOKEN HAS A REAL USE
Fifth, the token will (from what I understand) have a real use in that it will be the currency used on the platform to pay advertisers. I could use some more education on this one, but I see the potential for a solid economy being built around the Basic Attention Token.
I don't know everything about this project, but so far I like what I see. I believe it's primed for mainstream- much more-so than 99% of "conceptual" projects out there.
I am probably missing a bunch of details about the benefits (and perhaps negatives) so if any of you want to add-on to this I would welcome it. The purpose of this post is to share my personal opinion and "discuss" - not to be right.
Cheers.