replacing ads - nope, by default you don't see any replacement ads, rather you see the least amount of ads on any chromium based option out there (e.g. Brave is the only browser I've found that still blocks the vast majority of ads on YouTube videos). You need to opt in to see replacement ads
affilate links - yeah, that was some bs that happened 4 years ago, they were called out on it, and they promptly removed them, and these things have never appeared again.

Regarding the crypto stuff - that is by default off, again you need to opt in to it. Now, there is basic usage stats that are sent back to Brave that are on by default, but these can be turned off easily in the settings.

If there is any real objection that can be made to Brave it's that the CEO has contributed cash to anti-gay-marriage campaigns in the past (which is why he has fired from Mozilla) and that he has expressed some reactionary political views in social media. I can understand people boycotting Brave for that.

Meanwhile, Brave is the only browser I've found that completely passes the EFF's test at coveryoutracks.eff.org - and in other pricacy and security audits it performs always at "best in class" levels.