Log something crazy, but intresting.

Web 3 Domains Are They Any Good?

Date: Jan 28, 2023

As I am getting active on the decentralised network, there is much talk about web 3 domain names. What are these web 3 domain names are they any good, let's find out. A year ago bought my first web .crypto domain name and recently added .nft, .wallet and .eth domains. For one whole year that .crypto domain was in my account doing nothing. I just put up a one-page site which gave me no information. The site would not resolve on any browser without an extension.

Then why are people going crazy about these domain names? When technically these domains have a problem to resolve.

The only thing that is useful about these domains is a shortening of the crypto wallet address. More memorable I would say, but just for this reason buying 50 domains is crazy. What are you trying to build or are you trying to sell? There are a ton of YouTube videos that are telling about making money from selling these names. Here let me tell you that will not happen until you have a quality domain name.

The same has been in the .com world bad names get registered and then drop like flies. Before you get into these domains I highly recommend doing background research on the web 2 domains how they work.

Blockchain as a technology is great but when things don't resolve for common users that is a big issue. Does blockchain technology make decentralised domain names valuable, no I don't think so. This is because If mass adoption has to happen then what is stopping .com and .net to move on to the chain network?

XYZ has already started the chain integration then what makes these .eth and .crypto domains special?

What are these blockchain domains?

Consider them as normal TLDs but on parallel tracks. The irony of the situation is they came second so there is absolutely no support from the general population. You can consider them as non-fungible tokens (there can only be one and non-interchangeable) that can resolve into your crypto wallet address. You can also build a website but it can not be seen on a browser normally.

Blockchain domains are now able to do everything that a traditional .com or .net domain does but for interaction with these domains, you need special extensions. Now the blockchain domains are still evolving and more changes will take place. For that, we need to wait and watch how the whole blockchain ecosystem evolves.

Are blockchain domains truly decentralized?

The straightforward answer is no, I don't consider them decentralised. Ultimately you still need a location to manage these domains. For .eth it's ens.domains and for .crypto it is unstoppabledomains.com. Without the managed service these are just plain NFTs with no domain-like feature.

Just to understand this, currently, when you want to update the name server or add a DNS record you have to do it with your domain registrar (Godaddy or NameCheap). The same thing happens with these blockchain domain names.

What is the cost of these blockchain domains?

There are two types of cost structures that are in this space, one-time and $5 renewal. Ens.domains that offer you .eth names, there you will have to renew the names every year. The .crypto, .nft, .wallet and a few more are offered by unstoppabledomains.com is a one-time cost of $20-$100 depending on the name.

Don't get excited with the one-time offer not all wallets are compatible with the services they offer. Just for example, the CoinBase wallet does not recognise .crypto domains as the wallet address, and neither does MetaMask.

Should you invest in these crypto domains?

To be honest, I would not go very far and invest in these domain names yet. They are still finding where they stand. I would currently consider registering what matters to me, like my first name, last name, or brand name. I have done just that, I have registered my first and last name in these blockchain domains.

I would like to see a lot of trading before I step in as a domainer in these domain names. Because the primary purpose of these domain names is to add a human-readable address to your crypto wallet.

Who should buy these domains?

Usually, everyone has 2-3 crypto wallets, they are free. One for minting other for long holding one for coins that are normal. So, if you are active in the crypto world then you should get one. If you are regularly buying NFT you should get one. On the other hand, if you have no knowledge about the blockchain or crypto world they no reason for you to buy these domains.

Can you make money out of these NFT domains?

Yes, you can but in this space, 99% are bound to fail. Have a look at the names that are available those names are not worth buying. If the legacy TLDs come on the blockchain then these names will be worth nothing. If I have a .com domain then I can just create a sub-domain and create that as my wallet address.

Remember these names are used as wallet addresses so if your name has zero, l (L) or I (i) so try not to confuse the person who wants to pay. You can make money but don't go overboard just yet.

My Take on the Web 3 Domains

Well it's a great initiative, but yet to consolidate. There are more networks in the making which means more extensions. With Solana also coming out with .sol extension how many more are we yet to see? There needs to be one domain for all networks and different walled addresses. In my view, a single web 3 domain should listen and interact with multichain and multinetwork. Too many options make people and brands uneasy.

I will buy my personal domain and keep it safe but buying a lot of names for reselling that I don't see it happening yet. There are multiple domains on the ens that are yet to drop, the reason could be a cash crunch or forgotten/stolen wallets. See some domains in the wallet if stolen by some hacker is also a liability because it needs to be renewed. Well, the registration portals ask to renew them for multiple years, but I suggest not more than two years.

Now I am watching the web 3 story but there is another story that is brewing on the handshake side. Why get into a sub-domain when you can own the whole extension? Yep, the handshake domains where you get to become registrar or the registry yourself. Strange but this is happening.

For now, I will like to watch where the web 3 space is going. There is still so much to learn as every day new innovation is happening. You never know when the consolidation start's to happen.