What are blockchain domains?

Blockchain domains (often also referred to as “crypto domains”) are based on an al­ter­na­tive name-res­o­lu­tion system. While this new de­vel­op­ment isn’t yet main­stream, it already promises some in­ter­est­ing benefits—for example, unlike tra­di­tion­al domains, blockchain domains can be purchased.

How do blockchain domains work?

When you enter a domain in your browser, the Domain Name System (DNS) makes sure the website you want is loaded. To do that, the ICANN assigning authority centrally manages all domain names. For every reg­is­tered domain, the IP address of the as­so­ci­at­ed web server is stored. When we enter the URL, the DNS looks up the matching IP address and accesses it.

Blockchain domains, on the other hand, work in a de­cen­tral­ized way. That means there’s no single point where the entire system comes together, unlike the DNS. Blockchain tech­nol­o­gy is already widely used for cryp­tocur­ren­cies, where every trans­ac­tion is recorded in a ledger. This ledger — es­sen­tial­ly a long list of data — doesn’t live on one server; it’s dis­trib­uted across many different nodes. This makes it possible for all users to see what trans­ac­tions have occurred over time, which in turn makes the system highly resistant to tampering.

Ownership of the domain is stored on the blockchain. So instead of querying a central database when a website is accessed, the browser can check the ledger directly to see which services are linked to the domain. In this sense, blockchain domains function as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which is why this emerging tech­nol­o­gy is often referred to as NFT domains.

Because they can be linked directly to cryp­tocur­ren­cy wallets, many blockchain domains are also referred to as crypto domains. This makes it easy to send cryp­tocur­ren­cy payments to a domain address without having to copy com­pli­cat­ed wallet addresses. Crypto domains are therefore es­pe­cial­ly well-suited for projects in the crypto or NFT space.

Benefits of a blockchain domain

If you want a tra­di­tion­al domain for your website, you have to rent it from a domain registrar. For the rental period — typically one year — the registrar registers the domain with ICANN in your name. If you want to keep the domain longer, you need to renew it each year; otherwise, the domain becomes available again.

Blockchain domains, however, are not rented but purchased. Once you buy a domain, it’s written to the ledger and remains yours until you choose to sell it.

Because the entire blockchain system is de­cen­tral­ized, no single or­ga­ni­za­tion (such as ICANN or reg­is­trars) can control a domain once it has been sold. Only the owner has the ability to make changes, which also means the domain cannot be suspended. Websites that use a blockchain domain are stored in the In­ter­Plan­e­tary File System (IPFS), a de­cen­tral­ized al­ter­na­tive to the tra­di­tion­al web. Since these sites are not hosted on one central server but dis­trib­uted across the blockchain, they cannot be easily blocked or censored.

Crypto domains also provide clear ad­van­tages for anyone working with cryp­tocur­ren­cies. They allow you to send payments, NFTs, or tokens directly to a simple, memorable domain address instead of relying on long, error-prone wallet addresses. These domains can also be in­te­grat­ed with de­cen­tral­ized services — for example, for login systems or de­cen­tral­ized apps (dApps) — making them both practical and useful for branding.

Benefits of crypto domains at a glance:

✓ Ownership instead of rental: domains remain yours per­ma­nent­ly

✓ De­cen­tral­ized: no central authority can suspend the domain

✓ Cen­sor­ship-resistant: websites on IPFS are difficult to block

✓ Simpler payments: crypto domains can be linked directly to wallets

✓ Ideal for NFTs and crypto projects: branding and payment func­tion­al­i­ty in one crypto domain

Use cases for blockchain domains

Blockchain domains offer some of the same ca­pa­bil­i­ties as tra­di­tion­al domain names. However, they go even further.

• Website: As with tra­di­tion­al domains, you can use a blockchain domain to make your website available. These websites also work in a de­cen­tral­ized way and are hosted via the blockchain.
• Wallets: The domain is es­pe­cial­ly practical as a re­place­ment for the otherwise cum­ber­some address of your personal crypto wallet. Different addresses for different mar­ket­places can also be con­sol­i­dat­ed under a single address.
• Trading: Tra­di­tion­al domains are traded as well. However, since blockchain domains are es­sen­tial­ly NFTs, they’re es­pe­cial­ly well-suited for trading. Thanks to smart contracts, buying and selling is very easy and secure.
• Apps: You can also build software on these domains. Even today, there are de­vel­op­ment platforms and frame­works designed specif­i­cal­ly for blockchain apps.

So far, blockchain domains—and es­pe­cial­ly the websites as­so­ci­at­ed with them—are still not wide­spread. One reason is that you can’t simply access these domains directly, because the browser must support the tech­nol­o­gy. Opera already does this out of the box; for Chrome and Firefox, however, you have to install add-ons.

Still, some companies have already secured blockchain domains. For example, the major brewery Budweiser purchased beer.eth. It’s likely that Web3 — and with it, blockchain domains — will continue to grow in pop­u­lar­i­ty. So it may be a good idea to purchase a suitable domain now, while prices are still rel­a­tive­ly low.

How to register blockchain domains

Right now, the number of mar­ket­places for blockchain domains is still fairly limited. Un­stop­pable Domains has emerged as one of the main providers because the platform is es­pe­cial­ly easy to use. Other services include Ethereum Name Service (ENS) and Freename. Domains purchased through Un­stop­pable Domains are written to the Ethereum blockchain. This means you’ll need a wallet that supports Ether. If you don’t have a crypto wallet yet, you’ll need to create one first. You should also purchase some Ether, since you may need it to set up and manage the domain.

On the Un­stop­pable Domains homepage, enter your desired domain name to see if it’s available. Prices can vary sig­nif­i­cant­ly depending on the name. Short domains — such as common first names — can cost up to $10,000, while longer or less sought-after names may be available for around $20. On Un­stop­pable Domains, you can choose from the following ex­ten­sions:

• .888
• .bitcoin
• .blockchain
• .coin
• .crypto
• .dao
• .nft
• .wallet
• .x
• .zil

Other platforms offer different ex­ten­sions. With ENS, for example, only the .eth extension is available. Freename, on the other hand, supports a wide range of ex­ten­sions because users can even create and mint their own TLDs across multiple blockchains. Popular options include ex­ten­sions like .web3, .meta, .nft, and many others. Since new TLDs can be in­tro­duced at any time, the selection continues to grow.

Once you’ve decided on a domain, you buy it with a one-time payment. After that, the domain is yours. That means you won’t have any ad­di­tion­al renewal or rental fees. With Un­stop­pable Domains, you can pay by credit card, PayPal, or cryp­tocur­ren­cy.

Before you can actually use the domain, it still needs to be written to the blockchain. Just like with other NFTs, this usually requires paying a fee to the blockchain operator — the so-called gas fee (similar to fuel costs). This fee applies anytime an action is performed on the blockchain. With Un­stop­pable Domains, the initial fee for reg­is­ter­ing the domain on the blockchain currently doesn’t apply.

Once that’s done, you can use the domain through the Un­stop­pable Domains platform. Link the domain to your wallet and upload a website or software. The platform can also be used to find other websites on IPFS. Tra­di­tion­al search engines like Google aren’t designed for that yet.

Should you start using blockchain domains?

If you want to be suc­cess­ful online in the long term, you should start fa­mil­iar­iz­ing yourself with blockchain domains now. It can also be worth­while to secure domains early — either to use them yourself later or to resell them at a profit. However, since the blockchain ecosystem is still mostly a niche when it comes to websites, a tra­di­tion­al domain remains essential for building your own web presence.