Hydrate Labs Quarterly Web3 Domain Update
2023 Trends Positively for Blockchain Based Domain Services
All of the Summer Updates From the Web3 Domain Space Including Exciting New ENS Integrations, Unstoppable Domains Development Activity, and Interviews With Khori Whitakker & Brad Kam
Web3 Domains — The Best NFT for Newcomers
If you are new to NFTs and reading this article for the first time, an ENS or Unstoppable Domain is a solid choice to start learning about blockchain and Web3. Securing your brand name, full name, or preferred digit is a great step to begin customizing your on-chain footprint. Tasks such as setting your avatar, pointing your domain to your wallet address, and updating your contact info within your domain are all great ways to interact with the Ethereum blockchain in a risk free, low cost and educational way.
Secure your domain on the Unstoppable Domains website today!
Unstoppable Updates
New ENS Marketplace on Unstoppable
Earlier this summer, Unstoppable Domains announced a new website to purchase ENS domains from ENS Labs. Users can pay using Paypal, Google Pay, credit card, crypto.com, and various crypto chains including Ethereum, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Dogecoin, Polygon and Litecoin. Users can also pay Unstoppable to custody their domains for $10 per domain per year, or purchase a $99 bulk plan for unlimited domain custody.
Since 70% of their sales come in the form of fiat currency, this rollout has the potential to further increase utilization of ENS. The new auto renewal feature makes managing ENS domains even easier. These innovations make it clear that Unstoppable seeks to make web3 domains adoption more accessible.
Unstoppable recently announced updated support for Web2 and Web3 registrars, enabling them to integrate Unstoppable Domains and make them available directly through their sites to earn revenue and expand options for their customers.
Unstoppable & ENS Interoperability
Unstoppable made an announcement this week that ALL of their integrations now apply to .eth, becoming the 18th TLD to become available on Unstoppable’s Resolution Service.
Websites, services and dapps that haven’t adopted ENS can still choose to integrate directly through the ENS Enabling page on the ENS Documentation website. On September 7th, Unstoppable Domains announced support for .eth domains in their messaging app.
Unstoppable Development Updates
Unstoppable recently integrated XMTP to allow interoperability for p2p messaging across a number of platforms such as Coinbase Wallet, Lenster or Converse Messenger. In addition, Unstoppable has partnered with Push protocol, who recently announced integration for business-to-user messaging.
Unstoppable is also working to integrate the Fireblocks Non-Custodial wallet, which will help with onboarding ordinal transactions, as well as making interacting with wallets easier for first time users.
Unstoppable also recently secured the .sats TLD, resolving an issue with naming collisions. You can soon purchase ordinal .sats names directly on the UD website.
If you purchased .zil Domains, they are now useable on Polygon and be can converted using this guide from Unstoppable Domains.
Brad Kam Interview
I recently sat down with the co-founder of Unstoppable Domains, Brad Kam, to discuss a variety of topics including the Web 3 Domain Alliance, patents, UD’s new marketplace which supports ENS, and his vision for the future of domains in Web3. I came away from the conversation with one solid conclusion — Unstoppable Domains will be a formidable force in the web3 domain industry for years to come.
“There will be hundreds, if not thousands, of web3 TLDs” — Brad Kam
In our multiple conversations 1 on 1 and in Twitter spaces, I found Brad to be knowledgeable, well-spoken, engaged, realistic and likeable. The importance of founders themselves interfacing with the community is paramount in the crypto industry, and I believe Unstoppable has an edge over ENS in this area.
Web 3 Domain Alliance & Patent Debate
The Web 3 Domain Alliance’s stated purpose is “dedicated to the technological advancement of blockchain domain registries, as well as consumer protection by ensuring the interoperability of blockchain domain registries.” Unstoppable Domains has secured the patents for the system and method of managing domain names on a decentralized network, specifically, US Patent No. US 11558344 B1. The patent is a source of contention, since the technology covered under it was first utilized by ENS Labs, but the Web 3 Domain Alliance recently extended the patent’s permissions to .eth domains.
During our interview, Brad emphasized the importance of domain startups applying for patents to avoid the potential for web2 domain companies to swoop in, front-run patents, and stifle innovation. During a recent Twitter space with myself and the Unstoppable community, Brad Kam issued an open challenge to ENS Labs and the community to debate him regarding these issues.
Will the debate happen?
It seems unlikely, with the ENS Labs team & community staying in their lane and not paying much attention to Unstoppable Domains over the past 5 years.
With the level of community engagement, marketing and connections that the Unstoppable team has made, especially in the last year, it seems unlikely that they will fade away, but rather, I predict they will become a stronger and stronger competitor to ENS Labs in the future. Anyone cynical about these statements is simply not paying enough unbiased attention.
ENS Updates
GnosisPay Integration with ENS
Gnosis recently released GnosisPay, a Visa card that allows you to pay with self-custodied cryptocurrency. In their official announcement, Gnosis touts this new system as “the world’s first Decentralized Payment Network.” Prior crypto debit cards were launched by major exchanges like Coinbase, and required users to custody their funds on the exchange. Launching first in Europe, they plan to expand to the US and Hong Kong.
Khori Whittaker Interview Follow Up
I checked in with Khori.eth this past week to follow up on our previous interview back in February.
The big takeaway: Real world integration is happening.
Following the Gnosis ENS integration, Khori is excited about more companies looking to integrate ENS & crypto payments. Another big win for integration: the contracts for gasless DNS implementation underwent some final tweaks after recent audits, and have been deployed to Sepolia. The technology “will make it possible for anyone with a DNS name to ENS-enable it by setting DNS TXT records, with no onchain gas fees whatsoever.” They are also working on the ability for gasless resolution of record content from DNS, allowing DNS owners to fully configure a DNS name for ENS integration with no gas fees whatsoever.
One big ask which has been fulfilled; wen merch? The ENS merchandise website boasts customizable t-shirts, hats, mugs and hoodies. Also, all gas fees paid by ENS DAO participants have been fully refunded.
Khori recommended keeping an eye on the new ENS roadmap site and bi-weekly newsletter to see past, present and future milestones by ENS Labs. All prior newsletters are archived on the ENS DAO page.
ENS Labs has recently emphasized the importance of the DAO taking over critical functions, allowing them to fade into the background and let the DAO run the show.
Normalization
One completed item on the roadmap page is normalization, a long anticipated update to the ENS protocol denoting which names are considered valid and which are not. There is currently a vote on the ENS DAO to refund any registrations of non-normalized ENS names, so keep track of the proposal and vote!
ENS @ ETHCC & ETHGLOBAL
The ENS team partnered with v3x at the 6th annual Ethereum Community Conference (ETHCC6) to distribute over 1500 POAP activated name cards, with 28% of attendees claiming the cards.
Both the ENS and Unstoppable teams will be present at EthGlobal in NYC from September 22–24. $500k USD in prizes are up for grabs for savvy hackers and developers.
Use UD & ENS for Email, Messaging and More!
Mailchain, the communication layer for web3 (both a web3 inbox and multi-chain protocol) supports UD to UD and .eth to .eth secure email/ asynchronous communication. Through Mailchain’s ENS integration, anyone can correspond with their .eth.
You can easily signup at http://app.mailchain.com and register the resolving as many wallet addresses/ identities as you want, to one secure inbox.
Mailchain empowers the wider Ethereum and Web3 communities of projects, creators, and DAOs to relay vital developments and news in one user-friendly platform. Builders and developers can use the open source SDK to integrate end-to-end encrypted communication into their dapps and projects.
All messages are end-to-end encrypted using unique keys known only to the recipient. This ensures forwards and backwards secrecy. Mailchain cannot see a user’s encrypted user profile or messages. This is all decrypted on the client side (in the browser).
Etherscan has now integrated direct messaging using ENS names via their Blockscan mobile app. Interface Social also recently integrated ENS, an app which features wallet tracking, social and other features. Skiff mail also recently integrated ENS.
Lastly, eth.xyz has some interesting new integrations including compatibility with Bluesky profiles.
ENS Subdomain Technology
In early September, Mailchain announced their latest tool, tryens.eth, a subdomain program allowing users to register a subdomain for 48 hours. This allows users to get a free ENS name to use for hackathons, testing and other experiments.
Namestone, founded by Alex Slobodnik, has recently released a gasless subdomain feature, “give brands and communities the power to issue ENS subdomains to users.” This technology, also used recently by Coinbase for their cb.id release, gives users the ability to claim subdomains gas-free, and also update their profile without any gas costs, including setting an image or NFT avatar. These domains also show on the ENS profile page, and resolve in Metamask.
Farcaster Integrates ENS
Farcaster (Warpcast) recently announced ENS Support on their Social Media App, allowing users to log in directly with their ENS names. Native Farcaster names are held in an Ethereum wallet, versus being held by a centralized company, and are naturally ENS compliant. An invite only social media app, it will soon be available to the public.
Jefflau.eth has an interesting decentralization thread which urges zero-cost usernames at start for ENS onboarding, and uses Farcaster’s technology as an example of how it could be done.
Show me the Money! ENS Registration & Revenue Stats
Has the bear market negatively impacted web3 domain services?
Apparently not — ENS revenue remains strong and continues to surpass pre-2021 bear market numbers by a wide margin. Income for 2022 totaled $28m USD, and income so far in 2023 is just over $21m USD. I cited many useful ENS stat pages in my ENS article in January, published on 137pm. I inquired with Unstoppable Domains about their revenue stats, but that info is not currently shared publicly.
August marked a continued uptrend for ENS registrations, though volume is down from the highs of 2022. The popularity of ENS clubs has waned in 2023, and with it, a reduction in speculative domain registration activity.
Summary & Conclusion
Unstoppable Domains has ramped up marketing, development work, and .eth integrations, further solidifying their place as a permanent and serious member of the web3 domain space.
After attending events with their Head of Business Development Sandy Carter, and a number of chats with their engineers and co-founder Brad Kam, my confidence and respect for Unstoppable Domain’s efforts has grown. New technology is improving interoperability between UD and ENS, as both services continue to improve support for utility such as messaging and email. As noted in previous articles, the ENS Labs team continues to operate a robust DAO, add numerous integrations, and their YTD income proves there’s no sign of them slowing down.
Despite a perceived lull in crypto enthusiasm worldwide, the future for both companies looks bright. Advancements in Web3 domain adoption, development and progress are great examples to share with anyone doubting that blockchain technology continues to thrive.
Disclaimer: The content of this article is meant for informational and entertainment purposes only, and should not be construed as financial advice. The complimentary ads in this article are not sponsored by the featured artists.
