D3 has just announced a $25 million Series A funding round, led by Paradigm, with the participation of major funds such as Coinbase Ventures, Dharmesh Shah (HubSpot), Sandeep Nailwal (Polygon Labs) and Richard Kirkendall (Namecheap).
This investment will help D3 accelerate the development of DomainFi, a platform that helps modernize and financialize the domain name industry.
The successful fundraising project is led by the Paradigm fund.
According to D3, currently the domain name market still has many limitations such as complicated transaction processes, lack of transparency and low liquidity.
Previous web3 platforms such as ENS and Unstoppable Domains have not been able to integrate with the traditional domain name system due to not being recognized by ICANN*, leading to duplication and data fragmentation.
*ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) is a non-profit organization that manages and coordinates the Domain Name System (DNS) and IP addresses around the world.
DomainFi was introduced with the goal of providing a solution that helps connect web2 and web3 infrastructure, and create financial applications related to domain names.
The number of domain names belonging to the real estate industry has increased sharply in recent years. Source: Doma Protocol.
The project aims to tokenize domain names, allowing them to be transacted on the blockchain, while also testing financial models such as splitting ownership of high-value domains or using domain names as collateral. In addition, a blockchain-based automated pricing system is also proposed to improve transparency in transactions.
At the same time, D3 also introduced Doma Protocol, a specialized blockchain to support transactions and increase liquidity for more than 362 million existing domain names.
The protocol will also test the domain name trading model in the form of fractional ownership, helping more retail investors access the market.
The special feature of the D3 project domain. Source: Doma Protocol.
In addition, D3 announced that it has established partnerships with many major blockchain platforms, including Solana and Avalanche.
In particular, the Solana Foundation will participate in the development of payment infrastructure and identity on the Solana blockchain, and register for domain name licensing. SOL and . SOLANA. Avalanche co-deployment. AVAX, which integrates financial instruments related to domain names.
D3 will bring blockchain-integrated domains to the Solana ecosystem.
In addition, the OneFootball project will also collaborate with D3 and adopt the .football domain name to develop a digital identity system for the user community.
Plume Network plans to integrate DomainFi into the Nest Protocol, while Hockey.com test a sharded ownership model for domain names through blockchain.
Fred Hsu, CEO of D3, said that the domain name market has the potential to expand from $340 billion to more than $2 trillion in the future. The goal of DomainFi is to create a platform that makes domain name trading and management more transparent, and to open up new financial applications in this area.
