> And they really go out of their way to make it as hard as possible to disable/hide the wallet and all related crypto stuff.
I found this in 15 seconds: https://www.makeuseof.com/brave-disable-crypto-features/
I haven't installed brave in a long time, but maybe someone can try disabling the 'features' and check if these processes then turn off or not.
First, it's opt in. So you'd only need to opt out if you'd opted in at some point.
The instructions boil down to: Click settings, uncheck Brave Rewards button.
The rest of the article tells how to disable new tab background ads, remove the rewards UI, and how to do it again on mobile...but these are more personal preference things.
Edit: Just tested it by opting in. Easiest way for me was -
1 - Click settings
2 - Click Brave Rewards at top
3 - Click Manage Brave Rewards
4 - Click Reset
This actually removed all the checkboxes and such, and treats you as if you'd never opted in in the first place.
A more appropriate analogy is buying a card with a gun attached in the trunk or interior. It's weird but not a negative.