What Is the Carbon Browser?

The Carbon Browser makes it easier for users to connect to web3 by including features like an integrated multi-chain wallet with cross-chain swaps and bridge, while offering them better privacy and a faster browsing experience. 

Key Takeaways

• Carbon is a web3-centric browser with a focus on user privacy, censorship resistance, and support for decentralized applications.

• Carbon Browser has registered over 7 million downloads to date with over 62,000 daily active users.

• According to the project, Carbon offers 3x faster web browsing than other popular web browsers.

• Carbon is extending its web3 support with a launchpad for web3 projects. Mirada AI, an AI-powered text and image generation application, will be the first project to launch via the Carbon Browser launchpad.

At time of writing, the Carbon Browser has over 7 million downloads and 62,000 daily active users across desktop and Android. The iOS app is also about to launch on the app store, and interested users can test the beta version of Carbon on iOS on Testflight. 

Carbon is a free and open-source browser developed by Carbon X Labs. Carbon is designed to meet the needs and expectations of regular users, offering fast page load times while blocking online ads and web trackers. At the same time, Carbon also caters to the web3 community as it offers users an integrated multichain wallet and integrated swapping and bridging facilities. 

Users can earn Carbon’s token, CSIX by navigating using the browser. These tokens can then be used to upgrade to a premium browsing experience, staked for increased rewards, and more.

Carbon Browser vs. Other Browsers

Carbon and Brave are the two of the most popular web3 browsers. Both browsers cater to web3 users, incorporating features like a crypto wallet and supporting ENS domains. However, Carbon Browser delivers a faster browsing experience, while also allowing users to earn rewards without requiring them to pass KYC checks, and will also offer free VPN and firewall for its users. 

While Chrome is the most popular browser, with 64% market share based on SimilarWeb data, it doesn’t offer privacy options or adblock by default. It also doesn’t support web3 features by default, although users can download a variety of extensions on the Chrome desktop browser. 

Now, let’s take a closer look at Carbon Browser’s features.

Features of Carbon Browser

Some of the key features of the Carbon Browser include;

Privacy

According to Carbon Browser, its users’ data privacy is of utmost importance. It allows users to not only use the application without providing personal information but also manage other areas of their browsing data. Carbon is a non-KYC browser; no registrations are required to use available features including the reward programs and token staking portal. 

While still in development, Carbon will be offering its users privacy options like decentralized VPN and firewall. These applications will be free to use, allowing every user to encrypt their personal data while accessing the internet. 

As the Carbon Browser is open source, anyone can audit the codebase and also contribute to it, and therefore verify the data management practices of the application. Advanced privacy options are also available for Carbon Pro users.

Web3 Support

Carbon is a web3 browser. It has decentralized applications and protocols integrated by default and is also developed with technologies that enable developers to integrate their decentralized applications. Web3-related activities and applications supported by Carbon Browser include the staking program for the CSIX token, support for decentralized exchanges, and decentralized domains like ENS, Unstoppable Domains, and Handshake. Users can also access external decentralized services from their Carbon Browser interface.

Carbon also features a multichain cryptocurrency wallet that enables users to send and receive crypto, along with a staking platform and swaps on LDX.fi. Carbon also makes it easy for users to browse and interact with dApps on the browser, supporting categories ranging from DeFi to NFT and infrastructure. 

Improved Browsing Experience

In addition to strong user data privacy principles and support for web3 applications, Carbon delivers blazing fast browsing speed. According to the project, the browser has a load time of just 0.5 seconds. This is about four times faster than that recorded for the Chrome browser – the second fastest browser according to data provided by Carbon. According to the project, the browser's recorded speed is thanks to the optimization in the core browser engine and also the routing operation of the browser. 

Another key element of Carbon’s improved browsing experience is its ad-blocking features. Carbon cites high-resolution ads and their high frequency as one of the contributors to loading lags that occur while accessing the internet. By getting rid of ads using its ad-blocking technology, Carbon frees up resources for the normal web page to load.

In line with its goal of improving ad management, Carbon Browser has partnered with Verasity – a cryptocurrency project working on anti-ad fraud technologies. Carbon Browser integrates Verasity’s Proof-of-View (PoV), where if ads are shown on whitelisted sites, PoV ensures they’re free of fraud, making Carbon Browser a safer environment. Verasity is listed on the Carbon Browser dApp store, with support for the VRA token on its exchanges and wallet.

— Carbon Browser (@trycarbonio) October 27, 2023

Rewards

Carbon Browser offers rewards to users via its Browse-to-Earn program. Every user is eligible for the reward program, no KYC verification is required. Users earn Carbon Points for performing specific operations on the browser. Reward earned depends on user activities and region. The amount earned for activities varies for supported regions. According to the project, the reward amount will be adjusted regularly based on supply and demand conditions. Reward distribution is meant to commence in Q1 2024 and will be distributed monthly.

Carbon Browser also offers extra earning opportunities through its staking program. CSIX token holders can stake their tokens on the staking portal and earn token rewards according to the APR. CSIX is a BEP-20 minted on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) and the native token of the Carbon Browser.

Apps on Carbon Browser Store

Carbon Browser’s App store is a catalog of applications that can be installed and used on the browser. According to the project, it is the world's first and largest app store optimized for web3 browsers. Some applications in the store include;

Unizen Protocol – Liquidity Solution for DeFi and Interoperability Protocol for Multichain

Following the partnership with Carbon, Unizen is now supported on Carbon Browser. The project’s token is available on the Carbon Wallet and the application can be accessed on the Carbon app store. 

Unizen is a liquidity and interoperability solution for decentralized finance. It enables users to interact with different web3 applications from the same interface. It allows swap requests to be routed across multiple liquidity pools and exchanges to select the best route for each operation, enabling users to get the best rate for their swaps. As an interoperability solution, it developed the Unizen Interoperability Protocol (UIP), a decentralized protocol that enables users to move crypto assets easily between different blockchain networks.

As a partner project, Unizen is integrated into Carbon Browser’s LDX.fi DeFi platform. Users of the platform will be able to utilize Unizen’s infrastructure

Nakamoto Games – Play to Earn Ecosystem for Decentralized Games

Nakamoto Games is a multi-game GameFi application that allows gamers to earn while playing the games available in its ecosystem. It creates a hub for decentralized games and incentivizes gamers to play by distributing rewards based on user activities. Nakamoto Games plans to develop over 300 games for various devices and build an economy for gamers on its platform. 

As part of its partnership with Carbon, the Nakamoto Games application is available on the Carbon Browser app store, and the project’s native token is also supported on the Carbon Browser wallet. Gamers will also be able to access Carbon Browser via Nakamoto Games.

Carbon Launchpad – Mirada AI

Carbon announced Mirada AI as the first project to launch via its launchpad. The Carbon Launchpad is a platform that enables new projects to kickstart their journey via fundraisers. The Carbon Launchpad is an IDO platform that enables investor subscriptions and token sale events for new projects. In addition to managing the financial aspect of new project launches, Carbon Launchpad also helps new projects with marketing programs for their IDO and technical support. Mirada AI, the first project to launch via this platform is scheduled to go live on May 1 following a pushback of the initial sale date set for April 30.

What Is Mirada AI?

Mirada is a decentralized AI application powered by the Mirada token (MIRX). It is a text and multimedia generation AI client that enables users to produce high-resolution graphics and text using prompts. The Mirada AI chatbot powered by its AI algorithm is already integrated into chat applications – Telegram and Discord. Users can send text prompts to the chatbot and receive text responses generated via the LLM application, Mirada’s chatbot can also be added to chat groups on the platforms. According to the project, the web-based client for the chatbot is in the beta testing stages. Mirada AI is also able to generate audio files and animations, upscale images and perform face swaps.

Usage statistics provided by the project claim that over 30,000 images have been generated by about 5,000 confirmed users. Mirada AI is expected to intensify efforts in its technology after the launch event on Carbon Launchpad; it hopes to close the fundraiser even with an FDV of $10 million.

How to Participate in the Mirada AI Launchpad Event

According to Carbon, eligibility for participation in the IDO event is via a whitelisting process. The primary criteria for joining the whitelist include:

• Staking at least 1,000 CSIX tokens on the official staking portal on or before April 28, 2024. 

• Investors who intend to participate in the token sale event will also have to undergo a KYC verification process. 

The whitelisting process will commence on May 1 and the whitelisting result will be announced 48 hours before the IDO event begins. Users who meet these criteria will be able to invest in the project in its early stages.

After the token sale event, IDO participants will receive 15% of the MIRX tokens purchased during the token sale event, this will be followed by a 1-month cliff, and then a linear vesting over 6 months. Carbon Launchpad will manage the IDO whitelisting event while Poolz will manage the token claim process after the launch event has been completed. According to the project, the token listing will be completed within 24 hours after the IDO event.

Final Thoughts

Carbon Browser applies decentralized technology and anti-censorship principles in one of the sectors that are in most need of it – the internet. It has over 7 million users and the daily usage statistics suggest a growing interest in internet services that take users’ privacy seriously. In addition, it offers users an improved browsing experience with fast loading speed and adblocks. Carbon Browser also makes it easy for users to interact with web3 services through its integrated wallet, bridge, and exchange. 

The addition of a launchpad to its ecosystem will enable new projects to launch under the guidance of a much older and more resourceful project. Projects could use the expertise of the advisory team and the technological resources put in place by the Carbon Browser project. Mirada AI is the first project to launch via Carbon’s launchpad and could be the first of many more to come. 

Having said this, it is important to perform due research before investing in any project. While this article explains Carbon Browser and its features, it is not meant to be taken as financial or investment advice.