About Decentralised Domain Names:
Do you recollect the beginning of the internet. The web or Web1 had the decentralised Domain Name System (DNS), having the capability of basic HTML and emails. A domain name system (DNS) is akin to a telephone directory, where an index of public websites and the associated internet protocol (IP) addresses are available. The current version of Web2 has features of informative and interactive information-centric technology. Web3 is considered an advanced technological transformation of the internet powered by the creator economy. Web3 is also often referred to as “read-write-trust web” and the “decentralised web”, which aims to take away control of the web from monopolistic technological companies and hand it over to users.
Under the extant system, it is possible for anyone to buy, own and operate their own domain name, having the mobility factor from one host to another. The authority to control and own fundamental data rests with the owner. The standard domain name system accommodates multiple hosts with names of hosts ending with .com, .net, .in, etc. To illustrate, thenewslack.com could actually be a simplified form of a 42-character long hex string. In the context of transformation to Web3 – how does a decentralised Web3 name service work?
Decentralised Web3 Domain Names
Web3 could be attributed as the next generation of the web’s legitimate, monetary and technical architecture. It includes blockchain technology, crypto assets, and smart contracts. Web3 projects could be grouped into various categories, namely collectibles such as coins, decentralised finance (DeFi), and digital services. In the Crypto world, a decentralised domain name system is an easy-to-read address that denotes your difficult-to-remember crypto wallet These Web3 domain names are nothing but the validation of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or digital certification.
The Web3 domain names, which are also blockchain addresses, are straightforward and seamless to understand. For example, “credit the account of mike.eth” is a simplified version of difficult-to-remember 42-character crypto wallet address.
Decentralised Ethereum Domain Names
The fundamental objective of Ethereum Name Service (ENS) is to convert machine-readable addresses on Ethereum or any other Web3 platform to human-readable names. The ENS is a Web3 blockchain system that facilitates users to remember their own unique usernames. The Ethereum or blockchain community has evinced a lot of interest in ENS, which is a new domain name service created on top of the Ethereum. The ENS is intended to provide a complementary service to DNS by using smart contracts governing domain name registration and resolution. Upon utilisation of the service, it is possible to provide a single name to all of your wallet addresses and decentralised websites (DWebs). For instance, “james.eth” facilitates recognition and locating wallet addresses in a distributed environment.
DNS and ENS: A Comparitive note
Under the extant domain name system, the user has access to resolver, which, in turn, has two-way access to root server, TLD authoritative server and SLD authoritative server, depending upon user instructions. Whereas the ENS has a Geth node in the Ethereum network, which stores registry, resolver and domain name addresses,the user accesses these nodes depending upon the instructions given.
The three smart contracts, namely, the registry, the registrar, and the resolver operate the entire ENS. The ENS registry is run by a single smart contract and maintains record of all domains and subdomains. The next smart contract called the permanent registrar stores a Web3 domain name comprising more than six characters and provides sub-domain names to users subject to rules and guidelines. The resolver saves the name-to-record mapping. Public resolvers hold eight types of records viz. address, name, content hash, text, DNS record, Pubkey, ABI, and authorisation, which are technical in nature.
Future of Web3 Domain Names
The Ethereum name service is another step towards making blockchain interaction accessible. Considering the growing popularity of crypto assets among investors and the ENS usage, we might witness a steep rise in ENS names, the way we have migrated to using web domain names instead of IP addresses, to access the web. The businesses are likely to become more transparent and user-centric in dealings, owing to Web3 hosting. It opens up a plethora of opportunities for blockchain. The future usage of blockchain-based domains will be dominated by individuals, applications and websites, which will enable users to access the decentralised web. The objective of Ethereum Name Service (ENS) is to make crypto transactions accessible and convenient. This means a PayPal service for instance may end up being used to pay a friend in Crypto for the luncheon meetings.
With the ongoing evolution and the likely adoption of Web3 domain names, the Ethereum-based decentralised domain name system may replace the existing web DNS. The single name for all digital wallet addresses and decentralised websites is likely to alter the extant web domain system to ENS, which will provide a boost in aiding the Crypto investment. You can start buying and/or selling crypto assets on one of the oldest Crypto exchanges in India, Zebpay.
