I had high hopes for Brave Browser and BAT as a way to be able to easily fund content, but it hasn't really panned out. The idea is browser integration of micropayments, with a button in the browser enabling you to pay for content via tips or recurring payments.

It's a catch-22 for a lot of content, if they ask for a subscription it needs to be enough to be worth their while (payment processing costs, overhead), but also needs to cover typical use. There are so many sites that have ones-and-twos of content I'd use, but want a $10/mo subscription or $30-50/year. It's hard as a casual consumer to justify that. But they also have to cover the serious consumer who finds value in all their content.

Why can't we crack this micro-payments nut?

The 402 response needs to be properly implemented. But, to do this expeditiously, we need people wanting to move away from advertising revenue for their content.

I've consistently posted here about Aperture, Lightning Network's reverse proxy service that implements 402s via Lightning. With support from major browsers, this would provide a means for all different types of services and content providers to easily monetize their sites.

https://github.com/lightninglabs/aperture