What is an NFT Domain?
Even before the evolution of Web3 took ownership of digital assets to the next level, a digital asset that has long been bought, sold and traded even in the Web2 world, are domain names. Many large companies that adopt their online presence too late or develop a new product, have to shell out big bucks to buy the domain for their brand. For example, when Apple developed their iCloud service, they had to pay Swedish company Xcerion $4.5 million for the use of the domain iCloud.com.
It’s a lucrative business reselling popular domain names, the most lucrative sale ever being Business.com which sold for $345 million in 2007. In an SEC filing Cars.com owner, Gannet Co. estimated the value of their domain to be worth around $875 million. But there is a caveat, in order to maintain ownership of a web2 domain, owners have to pay registration fees and ensure that all of their contact information is up to date.
NFT Domains
NFT domains are domains that live on the blockchain and give users complete ownership over their stored data. Much like cryptocurrency is doing in removing the banks dominance over currency markets, NFT are working to empower user ownership of digital assets. So how exactly does an NFT domain work, and what advantages do they offer compared to the old model?
How NFT Domains are Different
The first most important feature of an NFT domain, is that much like any NFT, it is uniquely yours. Owners can buy, sell or trade their NFT domain freely, or simply hold it like an investment. There are no additional registration fees.
Next, NFT domains allow you to send and receive cryptocurrency and tokens. One big hurdle in the crypto space is the often confusing and hard to remember standard wallet address. With an NFT domain, instead of having a wallet address as a random string of numbers and letters, users can get something that is easy to remember.
Additionally, just like regular domains, users can type NFT domains into their browser and see a website’s content, except this content fully belongs to the owner of said domain!
Types of NFT Domains
Much like the Web2 world, domain users have a variety of choices, some of which are more popular and thus more expensive. In the Web2 world, .com is king. For NFT domains, they typically use the following types:
- .nft (more expensive than others)
- .crypto (more expensive than others)
- .bitcoin
- .blockchain
- .x
Pros and Cons of NFT Domains
Pros:
- Simplifies crypto transactions by replacing hard to remember wallet addresses.
- Fully own and control your domain, forever!
- Content used in your domain fully belongs to you.
- Easily host and create websites.
- Login to applications with your domain name as your Web3 username.
- You can access DApps using your domain.
Cons:
- .Com still king of domains
- Not all browsers will have access to NFT domains
- Might be confused with NFT art market
- A lost NFT is hard to retrieve
How to Purchase an NFT Domain
Step 1: Find an NFT domain marketplace
Similar to other NFT marketplace, but focused on NFT domains. Unstoppable Domains and Trust Domains are a few popular markets.
Step 2: Pick your extension
Find the extension that best fits your website or content, like .crypto, .nft, .dao, or .bitcoin.
Step 3: Purchase
Make your payment to finalize your purchase. NFT Domains require a one-time purchase payment. After that, that domain belongs to you forever!
Conclusion
As web users seek to reclaim their ownership in the digital world, NFT domains will become a huge part of that. Whereas most people use cloud platforms like Facebook, youTube, and Tik Tok, NFT Domains allow users to create content, share it with the world, but maintain ownership of all they create. The current system allows users to leverage a platform to grow their brand, but ultimately most content shared on these platforms belongs to the platforms, paying a small advertising royalty to the creator.
NFT domains create a unique space where Web3 creators can easily share and distribute their content, without losing ownership, including professional websites that work much like the web2 internet. Web platforms have allowed tons of new creators to emerge and prosper, but the continual push and pull of censorship and fair monetization proves that a better system is needed!
About Pikasso
Pikasso is a firebase infrastructure for NFT apps and games, creating an easier way for projects to create NFT, all on low-cost layer-2 ecosystems. Pikasso saves users the time needed by using a no-code platform to create NFT, with an improved UX/UI, and marketplace generator for each NFT project, all while bridging the gap between web2 and web3 content.
