The blockchain can transform the internet and improve access for everyone, with blockchain domains being a key innovation. You need a good grasp of web servers’ basics to understand blockchain domains.
Domains are like Street Addresses
Domains represent website names. They are not unlike physical street addresses, enabling users to visit websites more easily. Basically, a domain helps make internet navigation easier. The domain’s name replaces the long string of numbers that makes up an IP address.
Elements of a Domain Name
There are two elements in a domain name – the actual name of the website and the extension (.com). Someone who wants to buy a domain name can specify the server to which the domain name points. The ICANN oversees the domain names available and keeps a relevant database.
Issues with Domains
Registrars manage domains, which are hosted on a central server. These act as custodians of the domains even though users can buy them. Moreover, this central hosting makes the domains vulnerable to attacks and downtime.
Enter the Blockchain
No central authority governs blockchain domains. There is no centralized oversight either. They are completely decentralized and usually run on Ethereum, a blockchain network and ecosystem. This is why an Ethereum domain checker can help you see if your domain of choice is taken.
Other Advantages
Blockchain domains improve the infrastructure of conventional ones. They are censorship-resistant, decentralized, enable higher payment efficiency, and provide more ownership and control.
Blockchain domains offer users full power and access. They improve ownership, unlike traditional domains, which give a few chosen users unchecked power to make changes to the registry.
You Can’t Censor Blockchain Domains
Governments and other authorities can censor traditional domains worldwide for whatever reason. Content creators can publish work on blockchain domains without being afraid of it being flagged. A platform that is not allowed in a given country can be revamped using new blockchain technology-based domains.
Seamless Cryptocurrency Transfer
Crypto transfer becomes seamless and straightforward with a blockchain domain. Basically, you link your crypto address to the domain and can send or receive funds without copying and pasting complicated, lengthy wallet addresses. On Web3.0, the future of the internet, a blockchain domain, is all people require to make instant payments.
No Annual Fees
There is no annual fee for blockchain domains. Once you pay the one-time fee, you own the domain forever.
Nothing and no one can prevent you from using it after you’ve registered it to your crypto wallet address.
Downsides
As with everything else, blockchain domains are not without their disadvantages. These include poor content control, limited SEO visibility, and the risk of getting locked out of your domain.
This risk arises if you lose your private keys. The benefit of other people not accessing your domain can work against you in this case. You’ll never regain access to it if you lose your private keys. If this happens, the only option is abandoning the domain because you are the only person who knows the key combination.
In addition, online users don’t find blockchain domains and sites through search engines quickly. This will certainly change in the future, but this is the situation now because blockchain domains are still in their early stages. They have SEO-unfriendly domain extensions such as .crypto.
Final Thoughts
Ethereum is still the main blockchain platform, but not the only one. Its competitors include Binance Smart Chain, Avalanche, Fantom, Polygon, Polkadot, Solana, and more. They have advantages like lower fees and higher speeds.
