When you install Brave, it's going to ask you about that Brave rewards thing. It's opt-in. Nothing will happen if you have some sweeping rage against crypto. And the thing asking you for it, it takes one click to hide it.
Congrats. Now you have an incredibly snappy browser. It's Chrome without all the Google-specific crap. Whereas using uBlock is a massive performance improvement, Brave is a similarly large EXTRA performance improvement. Click around some heavy content websites, performance is near-instant. I'm on a very high-end desktop and even then the difference between ordinary Chrome and Brave is extreme.
Although privacy comparisons between browsers are complex, Brave scores high if not highest. Unlike Mozilla, they don't need to make exceptions for Google. Brave has made a few mistakes in this area, all quite inconsequential, but they were quick to correct it. They're not like Mozilla that sits 7 years on a ticket.
So it's extremely fast and top-notch in terms of privacy. It has a built-in ad blocker, is has the option of using Tor for private windows, directly built-in. How cool is that?
Wayback integration for 404s? Thoughtful and clever.
They dare to innovate. For example, they support IPFS directly inside the browser. You may not need it, but it's an interesting technology to explore if you care about tech at all. And if not IPFS, just the idea in itself of a browser going a bit bleeding edge should be celebrated. And I extend that thought to their add-on products. Like chat or video calls, alternatives to the big tech versions of those. Why not? They may never become successful but why shut the door before you tried it? These are attempts at the alternative internet done the right way, the work that Mozilla would be doing, if they weren't so dysfunctional.
Why stamp all of that into the ground before even seriously looking at it?
And about that crypto-based rewards program, before you make up your mind, you know what else one can do? Try it. Wire 10$ into a wallet. Send BAT tokens to websites that you appreciate.
Congrats, you now used crypto. You're not a criminal, nobody will arrest you, you didn't burn the planet and didn't get kicked out of the political party. You send small money to people you like. The shock, the horror.