Unstoppable Domains Explained for Beginners

David Utke •  Updated: April 16, 2021 •  Domain Names

Unstoppable Domains is a San Francisco based company that is providing various NFT domain names based around blockchain technology. Currently users can get various crypto domain name extensions (.wallet, .crypto etc) that can be owned forever as it’s an NFT domain name located on a blockchain (Ethereum being the most popular) respectively.

Traditional domain names can not actually be owned outright which is why you have to pay a yearly fee when you register a domain name. What you’re technically doing is that you’re leasing a domain name from a domain name register who is certified to lease out domains.

This is why you’ll see in the footer of domain name registrars like Namecheap and other registrars that they are ICANN certified. ICANN is the non-profit governing body of the DNS system. You can’t buy domains directly from ICANN, you must lease domains from a certified registrar.

Unstoppable Domains is now providing an alternative to the DNS system by allowing individuals to by and own NFT domains outright for one price, forever.

Unstoppable Domains

Get your NFT, Blockchain based domain name today.

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NFT Domains vs DNS Domains

The main difference between UnstoppableDomains.com and a traditional registrar like GoDaddy or Namecheap is that the DNS system is centralized around ICANN while NFT domains are literally non fungible tokens found on the Ethereum (.crypto) or Zilliqa (.zil) blockchains.

With DNS domains you don’t own the domain, you lease it as a registrant. With NFT domains you own the domain outright and have full responsibility for it. If you lose access to the wallet where you have your NFT domain stored, you lose your domain forever.

This obviously not an issue with DNS domains as the centralized nature of ICANN, the domain registry and the domain name registrar make it next to impossible for you as the registrant to lose access to your domain as it’s held by a custodian (the registrar) and not you.

Also, ICANN does not have the ability or authority to take your domain name away from you, a point often brought up by proponents of NFT domains. But you could lose access through a lawsuit or copyright infringement.

Simply, NFT domains are now becoming a viable alternative and not a replacement for the DNS system. While still in it’s infancy, it’s worth securing a few high quality NFT domains right now.

Personalized Crypto Address

The current and most useful aspect of NFT domains apart from their novelty and potential increase in value long term is that they can be used as a personalized crypto address. With one logical and easy to remember address you can now accept payment for various crypto currencies without needing to provide multiple wallet addresses.

That means once you purchase a .crypto or .zil domain from Unstoppable Domains you simply go through the process of claiming the domain name to your Ethereum based wallet. Then in your Unstoppable Domains account you can setup various wallet address for different crypto currencies.

This way, you only need to provide a logical address like makeawebsite.crypto in order to receive donations or payment in crypto instead of the long wallet address for each currency.

.crypto vs .zil – What’s the difference?

When you go to purchase your NFT domain you’ll notice you have your choice of two extensions. The main difference between these extensions is the blockchain they are tied to. The .crypto extension is tied to the Ethereum blockchain. A tried and test technology that has been around for years. It’s not without it’s problems anything else but it’s an established platform due to it’s first mover advantage.

The .zil extension is for the Zilliqa blockchain, one of many alternatives to Ethereum. The goal of both blockchains is to provide a platform for decentralized applications to be developed on. In general, the .crypto is a safer longer term investment but don’t ignore .zil either.

NFT Domains Pros and Cons

So are NFT domains perfect? No, again they are simply an alternative to the DNS system and not a replacement. The main cons with any NFT domain is that as there is no custodian holding the domain, their is potential that you can lose access to your valuable domain. The pros however are quite numerous and make getting a .crypto a logical purchase.

Negatives for NFT domains

You could lose access to your .crypto or .zil domain if the device where you had the wallet stored got stolen or broken and you could not remember the seed phrases for your wallet. Again, with decentralization comes responsibility. One last cons is that if the blockchain project your domain is based on fails, what would happen to your domain? As this is new territory no one really knows.

Pros for NFT domains

Now there are numerous reasons why you would want to secure a few NFT domains. First, they can be setup to be a payment gateway as we stated previously. This makes getting various crypto currencies easy and fast. In addition, with an NFT domain and decentralized hosting it will be possible at some point in the future to make an un-censorable and unstoppable website.

NFT domains are now a unique alternative to the DNS system and are not held by any custodian but instead held by you directly. No 3rd party can remove or seize your domain nor do you need any approval from some governing body. Last, you can own the domain outright which means no renewal fees.

Buy and sell Unstoppable Domains on the Open Sea

Want to transfer your domain to another buyer? You can do so on the OpenSea.io very easily. Transferring domains on the DNS system is fairly simple but does cost money and does take time. You have to pay for the transfer and wait for the registrar to release the domain name to the new registrar. Sometimes it can take a week or more to simply move a domain.

With NFT domains the transfer process makes buying and selling NFT domains fast. Blockchain domains do not need or require a custodian or escrow agent to securely exchange the domain name or purchase funds. Transfers happen fast and in minutes, not days or weeks.

Unstoppable domains conclusion and tutorial

So that’s it for our review on Unstoppable Domains. If you’re curious to learn more we have a helpful tutorial video that walks you through the process of purchasing your NFT domain as well as how to claim in to an Ethereum wallet.

David Utke

David Utke is a professional blogger, YouTuber and a highly rated user experience consultant. He and his team create helpful tutorials, software reviews, videos and more based on real-world experience. Join over 30,000 monthly readers and 27k+ YouTube subscribers!