Brave Adds Solana Support and Ramp Wallet Functionality in Latest Browser Update

The Brave privacy web browser is continuing its push into Web3.

The 1.39 desktop release now includes support for the Solana blockchain and its SOL and SPL tokens, the company announced today after first sharing its Solana plans back in November. (SPL tokens are similar to Ethereum’s ERC-20 tokens.)

In the new browser version, the Brave Wallet can be used to buy, sell, and hold SOL and SPL tokens through the non-custodial payment platform Ramp. Ramp allows users to buy crypto directly from their Brave Wallet instead of having to purchase crypto on an exchange like Coinbase or Binance and then transfer it to a wallet. 

“With the Ramp integration, Brave users will be able to spend more time doing what they love and less time on what was a painful process of converting their fiat currencies to crypto,” Ramp’s head of marketing, Greg McEwan, said in the announcement.

Brave is also expanding the utility of its crypto rewards token, the Basic Attention Token (BAT). Brave users can earn BAT by opting in to see advertisements while browsing. According to Brave, BAT has more than 55 million monthly active users.

The token, which is Ethereum and EVM compatible, can be wrapped and used as an SPL token on Solana if sent through Solana’s Wormhole bridge. 

In the future, BAT holders will also be able to use the token to buy and sell NFTs on the Solana NFT marketplace Magic Eden. 

In the announcement post, Brave cited Solana’s low fees and fast transaction speeds as reasons why it’s partnered with the blockchain.