As the Brave browser—the leading privacy-first browser—grows in both prominence and usage, the Brave ecosystem faces an increasingly wide array of risks. These risks compound when a native token like the Basic Attention Token (BAT) is introduced. Each Brave component requires distinct forms of oversight to reduce risk and protect users.
In this installment of our “Inca Use Case” series, we explore how Inca supports platforms like BAT in identifying and mitigating emerging threats.
Consumer Protection: Scams, Fraud, and Identity Exploits
Impersonation Token Monitoring
BAT’s prominence has made it a target for scams and fraudulent impersonation campaigns. Inca Digital monitors for fake BAT tokens across various exchanges that are designed to mimic the official ticker or name in order to deceive investors. These counterfeit tokens are often used to facilitate investment fraud or phishing schemes targeting unsuspecting users.
Inca not only monitors for fraudulent tokens but also initiates takedown requests to help prevent users from interacting with or trading these malicious assets. By preemptively eliminating these threats through takedown requests, Inca helps prevent users from being misled or defrauded, preserving user trust and ensuring a safer experience within the BAT ecosystem.
Social Media Impersonation Monitoring
Inca Digital monitors for malicious actors impersonating BAT across major social media platforms by creating fake accounts that closely resemble official profiles. These fraudulent accounts often use the company’s name, token ticker, and logo to mimic BAT’s brand and deceive users.
These impersonation profiles are frequently used to promote fake airdrops, fraudulent giveaways, and unauthorized token sales, posing risks to unsuspecting users. Impersonation scams not only result in financial losses for victims but also undermine user confidence in BAT. Over time, repeated exposure to impersonation scams can erode community trust, create reputational damage, and attract regulatory scrutiny, especially if malicious campaigns go unchecked. Continuous monitoring and rapid takedown of these profiles are therefore essential for consumer protection and for preserving brand integrity.
Inca Digital uses Blockchain and Market Data to Inform Risks on BAT
Inca Digital sources blockchain data independently by querying public chains directly, using APIs, RPC nodes, and verified third-party block explorers—it does not use data provided by Brave or BAT. This ensures an unbiased, external perspective on BAT token activity across Ethereum, Solana, and other networks.
Token Holder Analysis
Inca Digital assesses token concentration risk by monitoring the distribution of BAT across wallet addresses, identifying whether a disproportionate share of the supply is controlled by a small number of holders. This analysis is critical in understanding potential threats related to market manipulation, price volatility, or liquidity constraints. The presence of BAT across multiple exchanges contributes to a balanced liquidity environment, minimizing the risk of market disruption by any single entity.
Centralized Exchange Data Analysis
Inca Digital evaluates the health and resilience of BAT markets on centralized exchanges. This includes analysis of trading volumes, price spreads, average trade sizes, and buy/sell-side liquidity across leading platforms.
These metrics provide visibility into potential liquidity shortfalls, price manipulation risks, or abnormal market activity, helping BAT proactively mitigate vulnerabilities and ensure consistent trading performance for its users.
Decentralized Exchange Data Analysis
Inca also monitors decentralized exchange (DEX) activity, examining volume trends by platform and chain, alongside user engagement metrics. This allows BAT to understand how it is used across DeFi environments, identify new user adoption patterns, and monitor evolving liquidity dynamics. These insights contribute to a holistic risk profile, spanning both centralized and decentralized market layers.
Protecting BAT with Advanced Wallet Risk Detection
Inca Digital recently introduced a new product that introduces a risk scoring methodology using open source intelligence (OSINT) from public blockchain data, designed to evaluate blockchain wallet addresses based on proximity and frequency of interactions with high-risk entities. This helps reduce risk for Brave by ensuring they are not interacting directly or indirectly with OFAC’s (Office of Foreign Asset Control) Specially Designated Nationals list or otherwise sanctioned addresses, keeping BAT’s ecosystem in-line with compliance requirements.
This intelligence helps proactively identify high-risk participants who may receive BAT via Brave Rewards, helping to mitigate potential regulatory exposure, comply with US law, and preserve the platform’s integrity.
“With cryptocurrency regulation and institutional adoption continuing to take hold, we’re observing a rush to a false binary dilemma of either requiring users to surrender their privacy to flawed KYC systems, or doing nothing and being framed as supporting bad actors. Our partnership with Inca proves a third path is possible, with a solution that utilizes open source information without requiring Brave to compromise our user-first ethos and privacy promises to our users.”
Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave
Get in Touch with Inca Digital
At Inca, we recognize that many of our clients operate as privacy-first platforms and place user trust and data protection at the heart of their operations. Inca’s intelligence is purpose-built to uphold the privacy of individuals and communities. We focus on open source intelligence (OSINT), publicly available data gathered from freely accessible sources, to provide deep, actionable insights into digital ecosystems.
Inca Digital’s continuous monitoring and actionable intelligence equips BAT with the tools to protect its users, uphold regulatory standards, and maintain its reputation as a trusted, privacy-first platform. Our work not only enhances consumer protection but also supports enforcement efforts in an increasingly complex digital environment.
To learn how Inca Digital supports browsers in identifying and countering illicit activity, contact us at [email protected].