The decentralized web is now more accessible than ever.
We’ve discussed how browsers are the gatekeepers of the decentralized web and that there needs to be a seamless way for browsers to resolve to decentralized websites as easily as they resolve to traditional DNS websites.
That time has finally come.
As of today, you can update your DNS resolver for .crypto domains.
This enables browsers to resolve from DNS to through a single change in browser settings.
We’ve outlined here how you can do that in major browsers such as Google Chrome:
Mozilla Firefox:
This is a major breakthrough by allowing billions of internet users to access a secure and decentralized internet.
It also gives website owners an opportunity to create a blockchain website alternative to their regular website.
In fact, there’s a huge opportunity to begin using blockchain domains to have more control over your own website.
Here are six examples of websites and use cases that are better for blockchain:
The decentralized web will have a huge impact on content creators, putting power back in their hands. Blockchain technology will allow content creators to own their digital assets instead of relying on corporations like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to host their content.
Or worse, shut it down at will. Since no one other than the owner of the digital asset (e.g. content) can change or delete it, content creators can rest easy knowing that the hard work they put into building their following and business won’t be all for naught.
Additionally, since content creators will own their own data and analytics on the decentralized web, they’ll be able to charge companies like Facebook to see their user data rather than being a product for these companies to profit from.
Plus, creators will have the opportunity to take advantage of an additional revenue stream by enabling microtransactions instead of defaulting to a subscription-based model.
These microtransactions will allow their fans to pay for the content they want, instead of needing to pay for an entire subscription.
In the dWeb, we’ll see users move away from centralized social platforms to decentralized solutions in which users own their data. People can take comfort knowing that your data will always be under your control through an immutable record proving that your domain and its contents are uniquely yours.
For professionals like designers, photographers, or writers, this is an opportunity to monetize your portfolio by directly offering digital goods or services.
Plus, with solutions like our Chainlink verification, anyone can be assured that the identity of the person you’re interacting with has been verified.
3. Art
We recently chatted with Devin Finzer, co-founder of OpenSea, on The Unstoppable Podcast about the booming Non-Fungible Token (NFT) space and the future of digital art and collectibles.
Artists can stand out by owning their own digital environments like an art gallery on their decentralized website. In this space, artists can directly showcase, auction, or sell their art to their audience using direct payments linked to their blockchain domain.
In the future, we may see virtual museums or private art gallery showings on the blockchain - only available to users with exclusive NFT invitations!
Ownership has been an everlasting struggle for musicians since the inception of the internet. They’ve battled with various third parties siphoning their livelihood from music downloads, licensing, streaming, merchandising, and more.
Blockchain’s immutability will allow musicians to solely publish, copyright, distribute, and directly interact with fans. We’re excited to see musicians begin to take back control of their creativity and start minting audio NFTs, event tickets, and merch on the decentralized web!
The parabolic growth of Decentralized Finance (DeFi) has demonstrated the desire to move legacy systems to a decentralized alternative. Online stores will experience a similar shift as owners will find they are able to sell their products and services directly through a blockchain domain.
This will lower the barrier to entry for starting a small retail business, as owners will only need a blockchain domain to begin accepting permissionless payments.
On the consumer side, decentralized identities powered by blockchain domains will streamline the shopping experience by allowing shoppers to securely carry their data with them through data portability.
Many Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) have been emerging in the blockchain space, and a decentralized website is an ideal place for each community to come together. DAOs can vote on what to host on their site and how it will ultimately look, adding to the value of decentralized governance.
Forums will also benefit from open and democratic discussions without the worry of relying on a centralized service or unwanted censorship from outside of their community.
This is just the tip of the iceberg for the possibilities of the decentralized web, which you can get started with many of these right now. As we move towards the dWeb, we’ll begin to see these areas flourish as users take back control of the internet from large, centralized companies.
Want to get started on the decentralized web?
Visit our website to secure your share of dWeb with a blockchain domain.