If you buy a “block chain domain” then yes you can own your domain name forever instead of renting and renewing as is the traditional way. In this article I will show you what a block chain domain is and how to use it.
Table of Contents:
- Does it matter where you buy your domain name?
- Why should I buy a Block Chain (aka crypto) domain?
- Are Block chain (aka crypto) domains worth it?
- How to get a Block Chain domain?
- How to connect your block chain domain name to a website?
Does it matter where you buy your domain name?
If you want to own a domain name forever then yes it does matter where you buy your domain name. You should use services like Unstoppable Domains as described below.
If you are happy to rent and renew your domain name, as per the traditional approach, then the purchase of your domain name doesn’t matter too much except that different prices are offered by different companies. I recommend namecheap.com for affordable rates and ability tot use most of the popular suffix’s like .com etc.
PROTIP: Don’t get your domain name though a ‘free domain name when you sign up for hosting offer’ because while this is free for the first year it will renew at higher rates after this time than namecheap.com will charge.
How does a traditional domain name work?
A traditional domain name is something that you rent and renew on a yearly or multi year contract from a domain registrar (for eg namecheap.com). These domain names are managed by an international organization called ICANN who use DNS (Domain Name System) to understand who owns what domain name. With a traditional domain its
ICANN is centralized and was dominant in the industry of domain names and so was able to get away with only allowing people to rent domain names but now that there are new players in the industry competition has opened up the opportunity to own your domain name forever with the use of block chain technology.
What is a block chain (aka crypto) domain?
A block chain domain is a domain name that does not utilize the DNS method of assigning domain names and is not controlled by ICANN. Instead of DNS a block chain domain stores the data showing who owns which domain inside of a smart contract coded into a transaction in the block chain.
A block chain has a much better chance of being decentralized because the transactions are not stored in one database which can be altered by its owners but instead is stored in multiple copies of the database kept all around the world. These copies also have independent validators to confirm transactions and smart contracts which in this case hold the info about your domain name ownership**.
While this may sound confusing it sets up a scenario where no one person or organization has sole control over who owns what domain. This scenario is what is means by ‘decentralized’.
** This is no longer the case with Ethereum but it used to be. After they moved to ‘proof of stake’ this became less true. It is still decentralized but not to the point where you would be confident that its records could not be changed. If you are using a Bitcoin based domain then it is still able to avoid control by a government organization.
Why should I buy a Block Chain (aka crypto) domain?
- A block chain domain allows you to pay a one time fee to own the domain name forever. No rental fees.
- A block chain domain is less able to be controlled and censored as the records of its ownership are far harder to alter or control due to the decentralized and independent nature of block chain technology.
- A block chain domain can also act as a ‘crypto wallet’ and can therefore accept crypto payments if that is your goal but also is not necessary.
What do I do with a Block Chain (aka crypto) domain?
The decentralized nature of a block chain domain, especially those backed up by Bitcoin Block Chain, means that a government organization would have a very difficult time seizing or controlling the records of domain name ownership kept in the blockchain. This can’t be said for a domain registered through ICANN and as noted above is somewhat tru for domain names supported by the Ethereum block chain.
A decentralized network means that the confirmation of transactions is not controlled by any one particular organization and is hence not able to be corrupted from a single point of failure. Instead there are many ‘node operators’ who confirm that transactions conform to the Bitcoin protocol’s rule set.
A transaction would contain your domain name information and the fact that you own it (you’ll have keys that allow you alone to access it also) meaning if anyone wanted to change or seize control of the record there is nobody to extort government control over. They could do so over one or several miners and node operators but there are miners and node operators all over the world and these would be out of reach of any one or even a group of government organizations.
Are Block chain (aka crypto) domains worth it?
At this point in time there are only so many suffix that can be used and they are not necessarily what you would expect. For example, at this time it doesn’t seem possible to get a .com or a .org suffix. It appears that there is still some work to do but as this is a new field they may make progress on this in the near future.
How to get a Block Chain domain?
There are certain companies who have set themselves up to offer block chain domains as a product. For example,
- Unstoppable Domains is a popular block chain domain provider in the space and uses the Ethereum Block Chain to store the records of who own what domain name.
- As an alternative there is also btc.us which offers domain names based on Bitcoin’s block chain as opposed to Ethereum. While both utilize a block chain to store transactions and smart contract data (who owns what domain name in this case) the Bitcoin Block Chain has a more thorough method of decentralization and confirmation (via proof of work) of transactions.
You can learn more about the security involved in the block chains which for the base of these services by watching this video about how the transactions on these block chains are controlled.
How to connect your block chain domain name to a website?
Once you have purchased a domain you can upload website software to create your own website accessible from the domain name you purchased.
- You can read about connecting a site to a Unstoppable Domain if you have chosen that service or
- if you go with btc.us check the web bridge documentation
