(Apologies if this seems like a duplicate.)
Have not attempted DNS yet as I’m less comfortable there (tend to work from the human down). There also appears to be debate on which is easier. From an execution and understanding perspective, public file is easier for me as I do that all the time. 
Instructions said to download and not modify; however, other posts similar to the topic show very different content of that file - namely mine says:
This is a Brave Rewards publisher verification file.
Domain: joshbruce.dev
Token: XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Not:
brave-ledger-verification=
Not using WordPress. Was able to verify other channels (YouTube, Twitch, et al.). Have two other sites I will definitely be adding and possibly 1 to 4 more.
I did read somewhere that some hosts may disable this. I have not verified as it seemed to be related to WordPress.
Thoughts and assistance would be greatly appreciated.