Unstoppable Domains Brings .Crypto Addresses Directly to Web Browsers

Blockchain startup Unstoppable Domains is using tech from web infrastructure firm Cloudflare to enable direct access .crypto domains within any web browser.

Announced Tuesday, Unstoppable is tapping Cloudflare’s Distributed Web Resolver to link to decentralized websites though .crypto addresses, instead of requiring a browser plug-in.

A .crypto address can now be accessed in the same way a user types .com or .gov into a browser address bar, opening up the benefits of decentralized blockchain sites to more users, according to Unstoppable Domains.

Decentralized domains are controlled solely by the owner, not centralized authorities. This brings the advantages of greater security and privacy, as well as being harder to take down than traditional domains, said the firm.

“In a time when data breaches have become commonplace, while privacy and ownership over an individual’s own digital assets is paramount, centralized control has been called into question by many forward-thinking people and companies,” said Matthew Gould, CEO of Unstoppable Domains. “This new system is different. It puts the control back where it should be, back in the hands of the user.”

The service uses DNS over HTTPS, which is considered more secure and private than traditional DNS.

The blockchain startup said it now has close to half a million blockchain domains registered to its service.

In January, Cloudflare announced it had enabled connections to domains hosted on the Ethereum Name Service via a new indexing service.

CORRECTION (16:0 UTC, Feb. 16, 2021): Edited to remove suggestion that the new service is a partnership between Unstoppable Domains and Cloudflare. This is not the case.