Overview
Why have .eth when you can own .woof, .gm, .wagmi? DecentraWeb allows you buy and completely own top-level domain names. Companies such as ENS & unstoppable domains give sub-domains such as .eth, .crypto but now you own a whole domain.
DecentraWeb lets you create your own top-level domains and we will break down how this is different to ENS & Unstoppable Domains .
What are the different types of domains❓
Top-level domains and subdomains.
Subdomains are what we are are commonly used to. We see them in everyday life in both web2 and web3. We are creating a name under the main domain which is owned by someone else, a central entity🏛️ .
Web2:
In this scenario, it is normal to use subdomains for the everyday person or shop owner. We would get these subdomains from websites like GoDaddy who sell subdomains to us.
Web3:
Bobbay.eth
Bobby.crypto
So far, with ENS and Unstoppable domains, we are only used to subdomains such as .eth, .crypto or .nft. This is somewhat of a centralised approach as they control a top-level domain and furthermore, ENS domains are stored in a multi-sig wallet 👛 so do have the capabilities to control them (I doubt they will) but it’s important to highlight these differences.
Top-Level domains:
Top-level domains are the suffix of a website so the .com, .co.uk, .eth etc. In decentraweb, you have the capability to own a top-level domain that comes with a variety of use-cases.
- Re-direct it to your wallet like .eth & .crypto so you can store cryptocurrency addresses in
- Rent out subdomains to other users if they want to rent them. I.E. If I owned .woof, I could rent out big.woof, little.woof, hello.woof 🐶.
- Sell it when it appreciates in values 💰
This brings in a source of revenue, especially if you manage to get a popular top-level domain. 💰💰💰
Handshake
There is also another similar protocol called handshake , however, they have created their own PoW chain and it runs off their own chain. It is possible they could be adapted by masses, but it is very unlikely as people are used to ethereum and the network is so large already that people would trust it compared to a new chain. Handshake, similar to .sol domains goes through an auction process too which can be quite tedious whereas DecentraWeb works in a simple fashion like ENS.
You buy a top-level domain for a certain amount of time, currently, it is capped at a maximum of 5 years, but can be renewed over time.
So now that you know how it works, why do we need DecentraWeb?
Currently, owning a top-level domain takes a lot of time and money. ICANN currently controls all domains and they come at a steep price. The next quote is taken from the DecentraWeb website
“ICANN Is The Only One Who Can Approve This And It Costs 250K USD Non-Refundable Just For An Application To Get Them To Review A New One (Which They Typically Deny). Then It Is An Additional 200-250K A Year Just To ICANN To Maintain The TLD Through Them.”
Whereas on DecentraWeb it can cost as low as $50 to own a top-level domain with the possibility to rent out domains and create a revenue stream. DecentraWeb aims to be compatible with the ICAAN.
“By Making A Decentralized Version Of DNS (DDNS) And Having The Domains And Subdomains On Ethereum, Anyone Can Create A TLD If It Doesn't Already Exist On ICANN (We Want To Be Backwards Compatible, So Someone Wouldn't Be Able To Register .Com, .Net, .Org, Etc), And Maintain It As An NFT (ERC-721) On Ethereum.”
This means similar to ENS domains, that the TLDs can be sold as NFTs to other buyers.
Below is an example of where the .water domain was bought and recently sold for .5 eth showing a market for these domains. opensea.io/assets/0x3eaf3d0e21f452adf632744..
Costs
Currently, you can purchase a TLD with their native token DWEB (get 50% off) or in Eth. With 50% off using DWEB token, it makes more sense to use that once the gas is low. They are aiming to release a UI update soon too so that you can check out multiple TLDs in one transaction, saving a lot of gas!
Domain reserves
The top 400 domains along with other popular names have also been reserved for companies who will be incentivized to own their TLD. The idea is to bring the traffic over and once companies like apple own their own .apple domain, people are more likely to rent a sub-domain bringing even more users over to DWEB and with the discount of DWEB tokens, it will lead to an increased use-case of the DWEB token.
DWEB token
- Offers a 50% discount when purchasing a TLD compared to using Eth
- Each purchase using DWEB, 80% goes back into staking rewards
- Stake DWEB token to receive staking rewards
Conclusion
To conclude, the decentraweb project is very new but shows promising aspects of decentralising top-level domains and could bring about some interesting revenue streams if it becomes adopted by the public. We have just had the decentralisation of ENS with the $ENS tokens right now so I think people might show a new interest in domain names too.