You started using the Brave browser and enabled Brave ads. By doing so, you begin to earn and accumulate some Basic Attention Tokens (BAT). BAT is Brave’s own form of cryptocurrency. It rewards you for watching privacy-respecting Brave ads as you surf the web using their web browser.
As per the minimum withdrawal requirement, you must have more than 25 BAT in your Brave Rewards wallet.
So how do you withdraw and redeem BATs into your local currency, e.g. USD, euros, etc.?
Their BAT balance is residing inside their Brave browse for new Brave users. To gain full custody, they must verify their Brave Rewards wallet and create an account in either of the two (2) Brave-appointed cryptocurrency exchanges, Uphold and Gemini. By doing so, their BAT will be deposited entirely into their exchange wallet. After which, they will trade to convert them into their fiat currency, e.g. USD and link or deposit them into their bank account.
When you have verified your Brave Rewards wallet, your existing BAT is deposited automatically to either Uphold or Gemini, and so does any future earned BAT tokens. Therefore it makes total sense to convert and cash out BAT to fiat. Therefore, this article will cover these in Method 1 and 2.
So which Brave-appointed crypto exchange should you choose?
Although choosing between Uphold and Gemini should be pretty the same since both are cryptocurrency exchanges that allow BAT to be deposited and converted into fiat currency; however, there are some notable differences.
Choose Uphold if you want the option of buying and selling traditional currencies, precious metals and American equities on top of cryptocurrencies.
Choose Gemini if you only want to trade cryptocurrencies and have a more considerable trading volume.
There are also instances whereby one can have BAT tokens without earning them through Brave ads. For example, maybe someone gave it to them or had previously purchased it from somewhere. This will be covered in Method 3 below.
Method 1 (Direct): Link Uphold to your bank account
When you register as an Uphold account holder, you have a wide range of products, such as previous methods, stocks and environmental assets. You can also buy equities like Tesla, Amazon, Apple, etc. Most importantly, they support sending, receiving and trading of BAT. With that, you can trade your BAT into, e.g. USD.
One of their features includes withdrawing your USD directly to your bank account.
Uphold has provided a simple walkthrough video on their Help Center page. Be sure to check it out when you are using this method.
Method 2 (Direct): Link Gemini to your bank account
Similar to method 1, this involves trading your BAT into fiat currency like USD and linking your bank account to Gemini.
Registering for Gemini gives you higher daily trading volume, better prices and better technical support for troubleshooting issues.
Once converted into USD, you can initiate a Bank Transfer (ACH) withdrawal or a wire transfer to your linked bank account (must be the same name holder). Gemini had a dedicated page for users to withdraw USD from their Gemini account.
Method 3 (Indirect):
This method is for those who already have BAT stored in their crypto wallets and are looking for ways to cash them into their local fiat currency. Of course, you can still use Method 1 or 2 above, but it will be much better to convert your BAT to a more competitive crypto exchange such as Binance, Coinbase or Kucoin.
What is the reason for choosing them over Uphold or Gemini?
Binance, Coinbase and Kucoin are some of the biggest names in the cryptocurrency market. They have a large daily trading volume, which means plenty of buyers and sellers for any crypto trading. Moreover, you will get a much more competitive trading price (better bargain) than an exchange that does not have significant daily trading volume.
These major cryptocurrency exchanges all have similar features that link to the user’s bank account for withdrawal purposes.
Conclusion
Use Method 1 and Method 2 if your BAT resides inside your Brave browser and you have not yet registered with Uphold and Gemini.
Use Method 3 when you already own BATs stored in some crypto wallets and are looking for a bargain to cash them out.
If you wish to withdraw your BAT tokens elsewhere or set up a new wallet to store your BAT, you may find these articles helpful;
