Brave now lets you tip people on Twitter with cryptocurrency

You can now tip your favorite Twitter users directly with cryptocurrency with the latest build of the Chromium-based open source browser Brave.

The latest Nightly build of Brave will let users send digital tokens as a tip to tweeters of their choosing. Bear in mind though, the Nightly build is the latest beta of the browser and includes “experimental features.” As a result, the browser might not be stable and it could contain bugs that result in data loss.

When a user visits Twitter in the Brave browser, they will see a “tip” icon alongside the usual comment, like, and retweet features. This lets users send some of the browser’s native tokens (Basic Attention Token, BAT) to the content creator.

The browser first rolled out its tip function last year when it used “tip banners” to let consumers donate to their favorite creators. However, that wasn’t strictly what was happening.

Tom Scott, a popular British YouTuber, took issue with the concept when his image was used alongside a welcome message encouraging viewers to send BAT tips despite having never even heard of Brave, The Block reported. As it turned out, Brave was collecting tips on behalf of creators that had nothing to do with the platform.

It seems Brave has modified the process since then.

If an unverified tweeter is tipped with BAT, the tip will be held in the tipper’s browser for 90 days until the creator sets up and verifies a Brave account. It’s unclear if the creator will be notified that there are tips waiting for them, though.

We’ve asked Brave about their process for notifying users, who are yet to sign up for its Creators program, and will update this piece accordingly if we hear back.

Update 13:40PM UTC, May 27, 2019: A Brave spokesperson has since reached out to Hard Fork to clarify how Twitter users can claim donations.

“Regarding tips to unverified creators, they are held in the user’s browser,” the spokesperson told Hard Fork. “If you tip a creator who has not yet verified, your tip will be held locally in your browser until that creator verifies with Brave’s Creator Program. If they verify within 90 days, your tip will be transferred. If not, then it is returned to your Brave Rewards wallet.”