In brief:
- Crypto Twitter has discovered that BRAVE browser has Binance referral links encoded within.
- Typing the web address of the Binance.US and Binance.com results in a redirect with BRAVE’s referral code.
- Similar referral/affiliate links have been discovered for Coinbase, Ledger and Trezor wallets.
Crypto twitter has just discovered that embedded within the Brave browser’s code, are referral codes that get implemented every time a user types in the web addresses of Binance.US and Binance.com. The implementation happens in the form of redirects with Brave’s referral code added to the web address.
Twitter user @Cryptonator1337 was the first to notice the anomaly when he keyed in ‘Binance.com’ and ‘Binance.US’ and got immediately redirected to a web page with a Binance referral code of 35089877.
Works for binance[.]com as well
— xCR1337 (@cryptonator1337) June 6, 2020
More Referral links in Brave’s GitHub Code
The above revelation has additionally resulted in other members of Crypto Twitter digging into the GitHub code of Brave. Doing so has revealed that embedded into Brave’s code, are additional referral links for Coinbase, Ledger and Trezor. The discovery was made by Larry Cermak and was shared via the following tweet.
Looks like it’s not a very isolated mistake. Brave also does this for Ledger, Trezor and Coinbase if you look in their Github https://t.co/8PpnlS5jAu https://t.co/JGQ7d23fer pic.twitter.com/keorBZiDJL
— Larry Cermak (@lawmaster) June 6, 2020
CEO of BRAVE Apologises
The above tweet by @lawmaster was in response to an apology by the CEO of Brave, Brendan Eich, which explained that the affiliate/referral link should only occur through the Binance Trading Widget that is now standard on the Brave homepage. He further explained that the automatic redirect after Brave users type the web address of Binance will be removed.
The autocomplete default was inspired by search query clientid attribution that all browsers do, but unlike keyword queries, a typed-in URL should go to the domain named, without any additions. Sorry for this mistake — we are clearly not perfect, but we correct course quickly.
Commissions through Referral Codes Add Up Bigly
Many crypto exchanges encourage their loyal users to assist in signing up their trader friends through referral programs that reward them via commissions on fees charged per trade. This method of earning commission per trade can really add up over time and as more traders create accounts using an individual’s referral code.
At the time of writing this, the highest-ranked earner of commissions on Binance has accumulated over 987 Bitcoin (BTC) since s/he started signing up traders on the platform. The screenshot below provides a breakdown of the top earners through referrals.
