Funding of $25 million obtained by D3, a web3 domains platform, courtesy of Paradigm.
D3, a blockchain-based domain platform, has secured $25 million in funding from Crypto firm Paradigm. The company plans to use the fresh capital to accelerate the development of infrastructure for registering and trading website domains using blockchain technology.
The new service offering from D3, called DomainFi, is built on D3's blockchain platform, Doma. DomainFi aims to revolutionize the traditional domain service market by transforming domains from static digital properties into dynamic, programmable financial assets.
One of the key partnerships that D3 has formed is with Solana. This partnership will allow developers to register websites ending with .SOL. Similarly, the company's partnership with Avalanche will enable developers to register websites ending with .AVAX.
Fred Hsu, D3's co-founder and CEO, commented that the traditional domain world does not currently support crypto payments. He believes that DomainFi's blockchain-based platform will address this issue, enabling instant domain name delivery to holders and facilitating easier trading.
Brokers often charge 25% to 30% for legitimate quality domains, and escrow delays can take anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks, according to Hsu. DomainFi's blockchain technology is expected to eliminate these inefficiencies, making domain registration and trading more accessible and affordable.
The core innovation of DomainFi lies in leveraging blockchain technology to enable tokenization and financialization of domains. This integration of Web3 features directly into domain ownership and management is expected to unlock new economic value in the traditional domain market.
DomainFi operates on the Doma blockchain, which is the first DNS-compliant blockchain network. This bridge allows registrars to embed tokenization features directly into the domain management process, eliminating the need for users to rely on third-party platforms.
DomainFi has developed mechanisms to verify domain ownership off-chain while issuing synthetic on-chain representations of ownership. This ensures systematic tracking of domain state changes anchored to blockchain, enhancing transparency and trust in domain transfers and registrations.
By introducing DeFi (Decentralized Finance) primitives to domains, DomainFi makes domains programmable, enabling new financial opportunities such as collateralization and trading via blockchain protocols. This opens up liquidity possibilities for premium domains traditionally constrained by centralized systems.
The platform allows users to mint domains on various networks (e.g., ApeChain, Core, Shiba, Viction) for affordable fees (~$10), incentivizing adoption through airdrops and participation rewards. DomainFi also integrates smoothly with existing domain registrars' systems, preserving traditional domain functionality while adding Web3 capabilities.
D3 seeks to turn existing domains into Web3 domains by turning them into NFTs. The company believes that a decentralized domain service can help address challenges in the traditional domain market, such as costly and inefficient domain acquisition processes.
The funding raised by D3 from Crypto firm Paradigm will be used to accelerate the development of infrastructure for registering and trading website domains using blockchain technology. The launch of D3's blockchain platform, Doma, is set for the coming weeks.
References:
[1] D3's DomainFi service aims to revolutionize the traditional domain service market. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://d3.doma.finance/
[2] DomainFi: The Next Generation of Domain Registration and Trading. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://medium.com/d3-doma/domainfi-the-next-generation-of-domain-registration-and-trading-64230c6a70e7
[3] D3 raises $25 million to tokenize domain names. (2023, March 15). Retrieved from https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/03/15/d3-raises-25-million-to-tokenize-domain-names/
[4] D3 to Launch DomainFi on Solana and Avalanche. (2023, March 15). Retrieved from https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/03/15/d3-to-launch-domainfi-on-solana-and-avalanche/
- D3's new service, DomainFi, is set to leverage Web3 technologies and Solana and Avalanche partnerships to transform traditional domain services, making websites ending with .SOL and .AVAX available for registration.
- Commenting on the traditional domain market's inefficiencies, Fred Hsu, D3's co-founder and CEO, explained that DomainFi's blockchain-based platform aims to eliminate these inefficiencies, enabling instant domain name delivery and facilitating easier trading.
- With the integration of DeFi primitives, DomainFi's blockchain technology will make domains programmable, opening up liquidity possibilities for premium domains previously constrained by centralized systems, and allowing users to mint domains affordably on various networks.
