You don’t need to use the integrated crypto wallet to use Brave. But it’s definitely a feature that you should know about, particularly if you already use Brave for other things.
How Brave Does Crypto
If you use Brave, you have access to the Brave Wallet. It’s built into Brave because of Brave Software’s emphasis on privacy. Most web browsers give you ads as part of the experience. Brave lets you control ads that you see, and, in exchange, you are rewarded with Brave’s “Basic Attention Tokens,” or “BAT.”
You might be a bit confused. You don’t have to use the Brave Wallet, but you have one no matter what? That’s right.
All of the ads and permissions on Brave are opt-in, so if you don’t want to see ads, you don’t see ads, you don’t earn any BAT, and you never need to interact with your wallet at all. Technically, you never need to set up the Brave Wallet at all. It just remains a dormant feature.
If you do set up your Brave Wallet, you can use it just to manage your BAT. You can also use your Brave Wallet to buy crypto and NFTs using non-crypto payment systems, like credit and debit cards. Or, you can connect other crypto wallets to more conveniently use your other cryptocurrencies across the web.
How to Set Up Your Brave Wallet
From any Brave tab, select the wallet icon from the upper right corner of your main browser toolbar. If you have already linked a crypto wallet to your Brave account in other ways, like through plugins or extensions, Brave will detect those wallets now and offer to import that information.
You can also select the Get Started button to add other wallets. As of March 2022, Brave supports browser wallets, soft wallets, and hard wallets, but only supports Ethereum wallets. Finally, you can link or create an account with the Gemini crypto exchange directly through Brave. This makes it easier to buy, sell, and trade crypto, including trading your BAT in for other tokens.
Linking a Browser Wallet
Linking a wallet that you already have a plugin or extension for is easy—just enter your password. You can even choose whether you want to use the same password to continue using that wallet through Brave, or you want to make a new password to use that wallet within Brave.
Linking Soft Wallets
Soft wallets can be linked using either a private key or a JSON file and an origin password. You can enter your private key manually like a boss or paste it from a clipboard.
Whether you use the private key or a JSON file, you also need to create an account name. This is because the Brave Wallet also has a portfolio view that lets you view multiple integrated wallets at a glance.
Linking Hard Wallets
Brave Wallet can also connect to hard wallets by Ledger and Trezor. To link a wallet, open the Ethereum app and press the Connect button on the Brave dashboard. If you’ve done this before, you know the drill. If you haven’t done this before, it’s no more complicated than connecting a Bluetooth device.
Is the Brave Wallet Worth Using?
Brave is a browser wallet and browser wallets are never going to be as secure as other kinds of crypto storage. That having been said, other kinds of crypto storage are never going to be as versatile as the Brave Wallet. Whether the Brave Wallet is worth using for you depends on how you plan on using it.
If you regularly buy, sell, trade, and hold large volumes of cryptocurrency, Brave (nor any other browser wallet) is going to be right for you. If you want to play with BAT, use NFTs across online platforms, or keep smaller volumes of crypto on hand for regular online use, you can get a lot of utility from Brave with little risk.
Remember, too, that most of the risk with browser wallets doesn’t necessarily come from the provider; it comes from the user. If you’re serious about your browser safety, Brave is a lot safer to use. If you’re laxer with your browser and general computer safety, you should probably keep large volumes of crypto in a safer storage system.
Is the Brave Wallet Worth Setting Up?
Yes, without a doubt. If you use Brave, it’s worth your time to at least set up a Brave wallet. It’s there if you want it, even though it may never become your primary wallet. Or maybe, it will. It all depends on how you use crypto and how you use Brave, but you’ll never know unless you try.
