Categories
Crypto Daily Topic

Will dot Crypto Domains Phase Out The Cryptocurrency Wallets?

Sending and receiving cryptocurrencies has always been complicated. You always have to deal with the rather complex crypto addresses. But all this is about to change with the introduction of .crypto domains by Unstoppable Domains to the crypto world. According to the software company, the .crypto domains will gradually phase out the need for complicated wallet addresses.

Instead of sending Ethereum to such wallet address as 3J98t1WpEZ73CNmQviecrnyiWrnqRhWNLy, you will now be able to send it to the easy to remember ‘ABC.crypto.’ But there is more to the domain registry than just simplifying the art of sending and receiving cryptocurrencies. And we highlight them all here while looking at the revolutionary impact these .crypto domains have on the way we transfer crypto.

600x600

What is a .crypto domain?

.crypto is ideally a blockchain-powered domain registry. It was created on the Ethereum Blockchain and was initially supposed to help simplify the art of sending and receiving cryptocurrencies. It was developed and introduced to the crypto community by Unstoppable Domains software company to complement and eventually replace the complicated wallet addresses.

With a .crypto domain, you no longer need to deal with complex wallet addresses when sending or receiving crypto coins, all you need to know is the receiver’s domain name. You then proceed to pay the domain, just as you would pay the crypto wallet address.

While explaining the simplicity of.crypto domains, Mathew Gould – co-founder and CEO of Unstoppable Domains had this to say,

“We believe that tribalism in the crypto community is slowing down adoption of the technology. .Crypto is a domain name system meant to be used for any cryptocurrency payment and with any cryptocurrency wallet. Sending money to a .crypto domain is a way simpler user experience for the millions of cryptocurrency users that currently have to copy/paste and type in long addresses in order to transact.”

What challenges does the .crypto domain seek to solve?

Crypto tribalism:

Crypto tribalism refers to the existing identity differences between different cryptocurrencies. This is, to a large extent, based on the perceived technological superiority of particular cryptocurrencies and their underlying blockchains. It is evidenced in the fact that different wallets will only host-specific cryptocurrencies making it virtually impossible for a single crypto wallet to support all cryptos in existence today. .crypto domain, however, seeks to eliminate this tribalism by creating a one-fits-all wallet that is supportive of virtually every coin.

Complex wallet addresses:

Crypto wallet addresses are complicated and hard –if not impossible – to memorize. This means that you are always copy-pasting or referencing from different sources every time you wish to send or receive cryptos. With a .crypto domain name, you only need your easy-to-remember domain name.

Need for escrow:

One of the primary advantages of the .crypto domain in cryptocurrency exchange is its speedy cash transfer and the integrity of the system. This implies that crypto transfer can be initiated by virtually anyone from any part of the world and have them in your name within a minute. The fact that these domains are created on a blockchain platform means that they are highly secure and thus no need for an escrow agent to guarantee the secure exchange of funds over the domain.

Other things you need to know about .crypto domain

As mentioned earlier, there is more to .crypto domain than just the facilitation of secure cryptocurrency payments:

No renewal fee:

The .crypto domain differs from the traditional domain in several ways. Unlike traditional domain registries, .crypto is built on the highly secure and immutable blockchain infrastructure. More importantly, it isn’t a subscription but a purchase where you get to pay once and own the domain for life.

No website censorship:

Traditional websites are subject to censorships from governmental agencies and other higher authorities. On the .crypto domain where you get to own the domain, neither the governmental agencies or any other institutions have control over the content you write or is affiliated with your domain.

Independent registry:

For the longest time, domain registries and the entire domain registration process has been regulated and controlled by ICANN. The blockchain-powered domain registry, however, presents crypto enthusiasts with an independent registry outside ICANN’s grip. The domain regulatory body does not get to approve names on this registry or regulate the issuance of domain names.

No third-party custodians:

Simply put, there are no custodians of the .crypto domains. By buying the domain name, you assume full control over the blockchain domain. You get to store your domain, and no one can get access to either move or seize them without your authorization. And this comes off as one of the many problems that the .crypto domain seeks to address.

Who owns .crypto domains?

The .crypto domain registry was started by San Francisco based software company – Unstoppable Domains. It was launched by the brand in partnership with Draper Associates and Boost VC, who have been backing the company. The registry is built on the Ethereum blockchain. It started as part of the Ziliqa foundation that established the Ziliqa domains (.zil domains) whose evolution would see the birth of .crypto domains.

The Ziliqa Foundation is constituted by the website hosting blockchain that exploited several decentralized storage networks as well as the Interplanetary File System in storing the web content. It also included a payment system. In .crypto domains, Mathew Gould and his company are merging both the website web content and crypto payment processing capabilities into one.

Where to buy them:

The sale of .zil domains that kicked off in early 2019 would go on until late October in the year. By this time, Unstoppable Domains reported huge interest in these blockchain-powered domains, adding that they managed to sell over 100,000 .zil extensions during this period.

.crypto domain registration went live in November 2019, and you can now register this 8-character web extension on the Unstoppable Domains website. The good thing is every one that purchased the .zil domain extension can upgrade to a .crypto extension of the same name for free.

Possible challenges facing .crypto domains

Squatting and trolls:

Interestingly squatting and trolling challenges aren’t an exception of the conventional domain industry. Right after the launch of the .crypto domain, a hacker was able to exploit a bug within this blockchain technology that they used to gain permanent ownership of key domain names. Some of the trolled names include apple.eth, defi.eth, wallet.eth, and pay.eth. The company, however, claims that it was able to detect and fix the bug in time and negotiate for the surrender of these domain names.

User-education:

Blockchain and cryptocurrency are already complicated subjects. And while crypto exchanges may be accused of perpetuating the highest cases of crypto tribalism, they have done a commendable job in providing the crypto community with free and relatively secure online wallets.

It will take a lot of time and resources to convince this crypto community on the need to migrate from these free wallets to the paid domains. The case of domain trolls makes this even harder given the sensitive nature of the crypto traders and investors on matters security.

Bottom line

Unstoppable Domains, the San Francisco based software development company, has come up with a solution to the complexity posed by different crypto wallets. The .crypto blockchain-powered domain will not only serve as an independent website free of censorship but will also serve as a universal crypto wallet. It will not only support all the cryptocurrencies currently available, but the fact that it is built on the blockchain technology gives it an extra layer of security and integrity not common with the conventional crypto wallets.

970x250

By Edith M.

Edith is an investment writer, trader, and personal finance coach specializing in investments advice around the fintech niche. Her fields of expertise include stocks, commodities, forex, indices, bonds, and cryptocurrency investments.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *