Listen, there's some interesting news from the tech world. Do you know the Brave browser? The one that focuses on privacy blocks ads and trackers. So, they became the first among major browsers to launch their own top—level domain on the blockchain.brave.
What does that even mean? Together with Unstoppable Domains, Brave has created a new type of domain that does not work through the classic centralized domain name system (such as .com, .ru, etc.), but on the Polygon blockchain. This gives users full ownership of the domain, and — attention — no annual renewal fee. You buy it, and it's yours forever.
You can link not only a regular website to such a domain, but also a crypto wallet. For example, instead of sending someone a long set of numbers and letters, you just give the person an address like yourname.brave — and he will send you the crypt without unnecessary headaches. Moreover, it works with different blockchain networks: from Ethereum and Solana to Bitcoin.
But perhaps the most interesting thing is the ability to host websites on IPFS, a decentralized file system. This means that no one (including government agencies or corporations) can delete or block your website, because it is not stored on a single server.
Brave itself is going to integrate support for such domains into its browser and wallet (starting with version 1.81), and in the future, even register an official domain extension through ICANN. Then.brave will also work on a regular Web2 network, not just Web3.
Overall, this is a step towards decentralizing the Internet, where users will have more control and less dependence on large corporations. Brave still holds only about 1% of the browser market, but such moves definitely attract attention.
Do you think people will massively switch to such on-chain domains, or will it remain only for those who are deeply into the topic of crypts?
