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news What Does The NFT Craze Mean For Domain Names?

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It is hard to read anything these days without some mention of NFTs, non-fungible tokens. Earlier this month, Christie’s auction house sold a Beeple NFT collage “The First 5000 Days” for $69 million. Mike Winkelmann, Beeple, who operates on the interesting domain name beeple-crap.com, has used NFTs more successfully than any other creative.

While NFTs are often associated with digital art, the concept can apply to any unique product. Domain investors have been rushing to register NFT-related domain names, and a few have invested directly in non-fungible token creative works.

What is a NFT?

Let’s start with the definition of a fungible asset. If I borrow $20 from you, and then later repay, I don’t need to give you back the same $20 bill, as it is commonly agreed that another $20 bill has equivalent value. These are fungible assets, and would include cash, stocks, cryptocurrencies, commodities and numerous other items. The item has a value that is not associated with being unique.

A non-fungible token, or NFT, is data stored on a blockchain ledger that represents a unique, usually digital, item. The NFT establishes ownership and authenticity, although see caveats below.

While NFTs are often associated with digital art, they can represent any unique item, and have been sold for music, written works, video clips, trading cards and other products.

What you receive as owner of the NFT varies. In essence you are claiming ownership of the digital token associated with the work. You do not own the original artwork, nor the associated copyright. Various add-ons are sometimes included, such as tickets to private performances or unique unpublished associated work.

History and Applications of NFTs

While the roots of NFTs date to at least 2014, several NFTs released in 2017 are usually considered the first real implementations. Matt Hall and John Watkinson released 10,000 unique CryptoPunks that year.

This month, Kings of Leon became the first band to release an album as an NFT. The album, When You See Yourself, includes several types of add-on personalized assets, including front-row concert seats and exclusive audiovisual art. You can see more about the digital content, and how the redemption works, at the site of the company that developed the NFT for the band, YellowHeart.io.

While NFTs represent unique products, NFTs are extensible. You can use two NFTs to ‘breed’ a new NFT. This is perhaps best exemplified by Cryptokitties.

Blockchain technology has been mature for a while. Why did NFTs suddenly take off in the last few months? There are probably several reasons.
  • NFTs permit artists to circumvent intermediaries and interact directly with fans and clients. That has become more important during the pandemic.
  • The rapid rise in cryptocurrencies has created new wealth for some. Those who benefited from the rise in Bitcoin are exactly the same people open to the idea of other types of blockchain-enabled assets, such as NFTs.
  • NFTs make it easier to exchange, including fractional ownership, valuable creative works associated with tokens.
  • The current financial market has people looking to diversity to different types of assets beyond traditional stocks and bonds.
An Unregulated Market

There are a couple of caveats to keep in mind when considering NFTs. While the authenticity of the ownership chain is established on the blockchain, there is no automatic guarantee that the original NFT was indeed by the assumed creative. It is important to do your due diligence before purchasing a NFT. Secondly, the NFT field is essentially unregulated. Auction houses selling some of the products are, of course, regulated, but NFTs in general are not.

Registrations of NFT Domain Names

If the current rise in NFT interest continues, we will see a variety of websites handling NFT transactions, and a corresponding need for domain names.

According to dotDB, the acronym NFT is registered in 513 domain extensions. The plural, NFTs, is registered in 351 TLDs. NonfungibleTokens is taken in 90 extensions, and the corresponding singular form in 110. Strictly speaking, non-fungible is usually considered a hyphenated word. The hyphenated term non-fungibleToken is registered in 58 TLDs, while the plural non-fungibleTokens in 24.

There are a number of NFT-related discussions on NamePros, but the first places to discuss and showcase domains related to NFTs was started by @newshunter. More recently, @du6262 started Are NFTs a Trend?, which has become very active.

This post by @NameYourself shows the number of NFT-related domain names registered each day in 2021. There have been typically 400 to 1200 NFT .com domain names registered per day during the past month, and a total of more than 30,000 NFT-related domain names registered so far this year.

Dofo advanced search indicated just over 9200 .com domain names including NFT were actively for sale, but this does not include the fully written out words or other forms.

NFT Domain Name Sales

Below are some NFT sales listed on NameBio. See the NamePros threads listed in the previous section for additional sales.
  1. NFT.com, $50,500 (2016)
  2. NFT.app, $50,000 (2021)
  3. NFTinvestments.net, $5105 (2021)
  4. BitcoinNFT.org, $5000 (2021)
  5. NFTs.net, $3488 (2021)
  6. nfter.com, $3200 (2021)
  7. NFT.info, $3023 (2021)
  8. NFTnation.com, $2500 (2021)
  9. NFTgram.com, $1951 (2021)
  10. NFTnet.com, $1088 (2021)
Most of the sales are vert recent, the majority within the last month. The acronym NFT is selling better than the full words.

Domain Names as Non-Fungible Assets

As I was researching and writing this article, the thought occurred to me that domain names are in essence already the ultimate non-fungible product. Each domain name is unique with authenticated ownership, the key aspects of a non-fungible resource.

What about viewing those who create domain names as domain artists? Might a domain name created by a highly respected domain artist, authenticated within the blockchain, add prestige to a brand?

What else, beyond the domain name and domain artist information, could be included in the digital asset? Perhaps the story of the creation of the name - the date, inspiration and background could be included, or a personal message from the creator.

A logo, or logo set, is another obvious included digital asset, again with information on the logo artist and an authentication guarantee.

But the associated assets could extend beyond that. What about digital art, music clips, or video creations that would be guaranteed authentic and for use exclusively by that brand?

While such domain name NFTs would need to be sold for higher prices, to account for the various creatives who had a role in creation of the package, major businesses might well be willing to pay that for the prestige of a professionally created domain name NFT. It would be akin to a famous architect designing your headquarters building.

Final Thoughts

If looking to read more, this article on Non-Fungible Token (NFT) at Investopedia gives a concise explanation that focuses on the opportunities of the technology. They summarize the advantages this way
NFTs are an ideal vehicle to digitally represent physical assets like real estate and artwork. Because they are based on blockchains, NFTs can also be used to remove intermediaries and connect artists with audiences or for identity management. NFTs can remove intermediaries, simplify transactions, and create new markets.

So what do you think?
  • Are NFTs a short-term bubble?
  • Will some make a lot of money on NFT holdings and many lose money?
  • Will we still be talking about NFTs in five years time?
  • What about DFT domain names - what sort of valuations to you see?
  • Do you think that domain names could come to be viewed as the ultimate non-fungible tokens?

The idea for a NamePros Blog article on NFTs was suggested by @oldtimer. Thanks to NameBio and Dofo for data used for this article.
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
Great write. i got an offer after 1min i listed my Nft at opensea.
got a collection of 100 Head 3d
if someone interested i give 5 for free
pm if interested only first 5 pm.thanks
 
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Remember that Non-fungible tokens are named NFTs but also NIFTIES...
those are the two main keywords

You are correct “Nifties” is the spelled out version of “NFTs “( which I’ve had offers on both) I own several of them. Same spelling goes for the singular “Niftie/NFT”

@Bob Hawkes wonderful article as always thank you for taking the time to create this beautiful read! Well done.
 
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NFT maybe is the trend I guess
 
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Thanks for the informative article @Bob Hawkes

I have no concern about whether or not NFT will still be useful years to come, I think it will be.
However, one concern I have is whether or not we'll popularly keep calling it NFT.
 
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Same spelling goes for the singular “Niftie/NFT”

I thought the popular pronunciation goes like this -
Singular:
NFT = Nifty
Plural:
NFTs = Nifties

Am I wrong? Or is it both Nifty and Niftie for singular!
 
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I thought the popular pronunciation goes like this -
Singular:
NFT = Nifty
Plural:
NFTs = Nifties

Am I wrong? Or is it both Nifty and Niftie for singular!


Nifty is the preferred and proper spelling for the singular, but this is domaining and words so given Nifites is plural use, technically Niftie could be used in place of Nifty.

But yes I prefer Nifty for singular and Nifties for pluaral

Just pointing out you can take the "s" of the plural as an option.
(not NFT related but here is an example of singular" NIFTIE" being used https://niftiecommute.com/ )
 
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Excellent Article! Thanks Bob. :)
 
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Thanks Bob, for this great article (y)
 
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"As I was researching and writing this article, the thought occurred to me that domain names are in essence already the ultimate non-fungible product. Each domain name is unique with authenticated ownership, the key aspects of a non-fungible resource.

What about viewing those who create domain names as domain artists? Might a domain name created by a highly respected domain artist, authenticated within the blockchain, add prestige to a brand?

What else, beyond the domain name and domain artist information, could be included in the digital asset? Perhaps the story of the creation of the name - the date, inspiration and background could be included, or a personal message from the creator.

A logo, or logo set, is another obvious included digital asset, again with information on the logo artist and an authentication guarantee."

I'd like to hear from domainers who have opinions/answers to Bob's above questions. Since many companies do not currently value domain names, would what he suggests be more attractive and valued (name creation, domain artist, logo set, etc.) by companies? Or, are we domainers too close to the trees to see the forest?
 
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domain names are in essence already the ultimate non-fungible product.

Yes, domain names are non-fungible, like many other things. However, we don't actually own them. We kind of lease them for a certain period of years. That's why many rules of NFT can never be applied to regular domain names.

Might a domain name created by a highly respected domain artist, authenticated within the blockchain, add prestige to a brand?

I'd not say it's impossible, but it's unlikely as we don't actually own our domain names. However, blockchain domain names (like those provided by unstoppable) are actually own by us, hence those already exists in the blockchain with the attributes you've mentioned. The problem is though, it will take a long time (if ever) for blockchain domain names (like .crypto) to become mainstream.

Having said that, it's definitely possible to implement an authentication and transfer system for even regular domain names using block chain. In fact, if implemented, a solution like this will even increase domain name security and reduce domain theft greatly. Hopefully this sort of implementation will see the light of day soon.

A logo, or logo set, is another obvious included digital asset, again with information on the logo artist and an authentication guarantee."

Sure, logo is digital art own by the artist. So things like logo is already part of NFT.
 
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Great article.

NFT are here to stay for a longue time, it worth to check also other crypto projects ... there is more niches in the niche.
 
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Bankless



@BanklessHQ

·
Feb 4


Our Metaversal Newsletter has weekly contests where you can win your very own .crypto domain from
@unstoppableweb
All you have to do is subscribe! Subscribe: https://metaversal.banklesshq.com/p/metaversal-is-here…
 
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I'd not say it's impossible, but it's unlikely as we don't actually own our domain names. However, blockchain domain names (like those provided by unstoppable) are actually own by us, hence those already exists in the blockchain with the attributes you've mentioned. The problem is though, it will take a long time (if ever) for blockchain domain names (like .crypto) to become mainstream.

I already have 7 of them. but I don't think they will replace regular domains. I think in near future every business will have its own .crypto domain for accepting crypto payments. so in that way they are still pretty valuable imo
 
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I already have 7 of them. but I don't think they will replace regular domains. I think in near future every business will have its own .crypto domain for accepting crypto payments. so in that way they are still pretty valuable imo

The thing is, we would never know for sure what will become mainstream until it actually happens. Also, I'm not sure about .crypto, but my opinion is that some form of blockchain domain naming system has its place in the future.

How popular it'll become that remains to be seen though. For example, PGP existed for ages for privacy and authenticity in communication tech like email. In fact, PGP is almost as old as domain name system itself. But, even after so many years, how many people use PGP for email communication? Not many.

The thing is, any technology doesn't become mainstream in the future based on how good it is or how established it is in the present, rather based on the adoption of the masses - something that is almost impossible to predict. Since the moment we predict something, as we are part of the masses ourselves, our very act of prediction changes the possible future to something else. In physics, this is popularly known as the butterfly effect. This is the same reason why economics is so difficult.

Of course, we can always make educated guesses, but that's all we can do IMHO.
 
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The thing is, we would never know for sure what will become mainstream until it actually happens. Also, I'm not sure about .crypto, but my opinion is that some form of blockchain domain naming system has its place in the future.

How popular it'll become that remains to be seen though. For example, PGP existed for ages for privacy and authenticity in communication tech like email. In fact, PGP is almost as old as domain name system itself. But, even after so many years, how many people use PGP for email communication? Not many.

The thing is, any technology doesn't become mainstream in the future based on how good it is or how stablished it is in the present, rather based on the adaptation of a masses - something that is almost impossible to predict. Since the moment we predict something, as we are part of the masses ourselves, our very act of prediction changes the possible future to something else. In physics, this is popularly known as the butterfly effect. This is the same reason why economics is so difficult.

Of course, we can always make educated guesses, but that's all we can do IMHO.

of course none of us have an orb showing us the future. but just judging by adaptation of cryptos in general, trend is there for crypto payments becoming mainstream.. so its just a matter of time at this point.
and the reason I think .crypto domain can become the ultimate option is because of the fact that it doesn't have renewal fees.. its in effect an NFT that can work as a multicoin wallet used to accept payments.
the convivence it brings to crypto payments is noteworthy.. instead of sending wallet addresses you can just say "send it to JonDoe.crypto" and the domain forwards the payment to your wallet.

so I think some sort of crypto domain is going to become mainstream.. will it be .crypto? .eth? .zil? who knows... but if I were a betting man, judging by .com becoming the king in early days of internet despite other extensions having the same capability (address on internet) I think .crypto is very likely to become the new .com

but as you said, its all just educated guesses at best.
which is why I don't advise anyone to invest into .crypto domains.
but I also hate to be the guy who don't care about it at all, only to come around years later to see my name is already registered by someone else.
 
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In case people missed it, Morgan Linton pulled an April Fools joke that got many people including me.

He has over last number of days been covering NFTs, so did not seem a surprise that he said he had tried creating and selling one. He took one of his photos of El Capitan in Yosemite, used a service to add an NFT, promoted it as his 1/1 artwork, minimum priced it in Eth, and.... announced that it had closed at about $29,000!

The post was so well written, and the prices on NFT art seems so variable, it seemed vaguely believable and a bunch of us were wondering what we could try it with.

But, it was an April Fool!

Bob
 
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Love your stuff as always Bob, appreciate you composing this
 
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No f-in tears when you're renewing long after the trend.
 
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Thank you for a very informative article, I always read your research with interest.
 
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Avid fan here. Thanks for the article Bob, always great and informative.
 
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