Earn money and anonymity with 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 ETH co-founder Gavin Wood, it denotes a “decentralized online ecosystem based on blockchain”. The aim of Web 3.0 is to achieve decentralization by eliminating middlemen, following the example of the anti-establishment movement. In particular, large data such as Amazon are to be avoided, which store several million terabytes of personal data every year for their own economic benefit.

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

So far, the crypto world has been difficult to grasp, especially for newcomers. The 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 thereby offer an important gateway to the decentralized ecosystem, with higher security and more privacy than ever before.

The three largest 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 numerous blockchains including BTC, ETH, EVM-compatible 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 looking at you using the built-in VPN and the ad and tracker blockers. According to Opera, these functions should also speed up surfing.

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

So far, Opera is only available in beta and in the mobile version only for Android. The version for iOS is currently being worked on.

Unlike Brave, Opera does not currently offer its own token that users can earn by 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 fingerprints 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 tech companies take your data to draw your attention to advertising via customized advertising. The Brave founders believe that attention is an important commodity. Sure, because attention increases efficiency, and high efficiency often results in more money. For every advertisement that you voluntarily watch via the Brave browser, BAT coins are credited to your wallet. You can keep BAT like any other crypto asset or use it to tip the content publishers. A BAT is currently equivalent 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 greater transparency, it is possible to rate and comment on every website. Fulldive offers better interaction between social media, news websites and video streaming platforms by offering everything in one interface in the browser.

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 that of conventional browsers, according to Fulldive.

You can also earn money with the Fulldive Browser by doing small tasks. All you have to do is invite friends, take part in surveys 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 BTC Cash.

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

Disadvantages and criticism

Theoretically you can make money with Fulldive and Brave. However, it is not much. Brave offers two integrated service providers (Uphold and Gemini) for the transaction. Also, transaction costs are quite high and customers complain about Uphold’s lack of support. You should only be careful when uninstalling Brave. If you do not 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 Equity Investment Fund II. This means that Opera pays taxes to an authoritarian regime and in some ways supports human rights abuses.