The current trending news in web 3 and the crypto community is the discontinuation of the Unstoppable domain’s .coin name. The acclaimed domain naming platform only launched the .coin name last year, and with the promising decentralization prospect they have preached since the network’s launch in 2018, many web 3.0 aficionados jumped on it right away, only to have it canceled barely a year after their investment. This, therefore, raises a serious question in the crypto domain community: what is the rationale for this removal? and what happens to its users? Many people that are unfamiliar with Web 3 or crypto domains might even be wondering what this Unstoppable domain thingy is all about.
What is the Unstoppable Domain All About
The Unstoppable domain system primarily offers an array of domain names that can be linked to crypto wallets. The good part of their initiative is that they help simplify the complex long string of alphanumeric crypto addresses by providing a simple and readable alternative. This means that when an Unstoppable domain is purchased, users can now create a simple and personalized name with it and then link it to a variety of crypto addresses. They can then use these names as an alternative to their crypto addresses to make crypto transactions, whether to send or receive.
Unstoppable domains also claim to offer these names as NFT-based domain names that can not only be linked to crypto wallets but can also be used to create a decentralized website. The significance of a decentralized web or internet is that it is based on blockchain technology. Like cryptocurrency, it is meant to be autonomous, secure, anonymous, and free from the control of any central entity. It is intended to provide a system that operates outside the central governance of ICANN and in a different way from them, which is what web 3 and decentralization are all about.
Although early into the launch of the platform in 2018, many crypto and web 3 enthusiasts believe that the Unstoppable platform is firmly on the right track of decentralization and web 3, there have been different narratives that claim otherwise, mainly because they only offer second-level domains. This recent discontinuation of their .coin name also seems to further support the claim.
The ridiculous thing about this development is that the platform will not only stop selling the .coin name, but they will remove the already sold ones so that users who already own the .coin domain will no longer be able to use them. This cancellation of what is supposed to be an NFT domain in and of itself defeats the definition of a decentralized domain and system, which unstoppable domain claims to offer. The decentralization goal that Unstoppable has preached so far is that NFT domains are supposed to be permanent. Owners of these domains are supposed to have total control and permanent ownership in that they cannot be removed because they are based on blockchain technology.
However, the fact that Unstoppable domains can discontinue the .coin domain suggests that the system is not all that decentralized after all. It is, therefore, safe to say that the platform is not any different from the centralized ICANN system that it claims to improve upon. This means that just like ICANN, unstoppable also seems to have central control over all its domains and not users. Now, that is ridiculous for a system that preaches decentralization.
Why is Unstoppable Domain Removing the .coin Name From Their Portfolio?
Unstoppable domains have claimed that the reason for the discontinuation of its .coin domain was to avoid domain names collision because it turns out that another naming service that launched earlier before them already offers the .coin domain, and they haven’t found out about it until now.
In the statement released on the platform’s official website, they claimed that when the .coin name was launched in 2021, they were unaware that another platform, Emercoin, had already been issuing .coin domains since 2014. Emercoin is said to have not marketed its domain well enough, so it was somewhat difficult to find out about it prior to their own launch.
However, while discontinuing the .coin name seems to be a reasonable step to avoid the problem of functional collision, the implication is that this development shows that Unstoppable domains have not been the decentralized naming system they claimed to be. If anything, they are just a small version of ICANN.
What Happens to Users and .coin Name Owners Now?
For a start, users will not be able to buy the .coin name again, as it has been removed from their portfolio. Likewise, Unstoppable .coin domains are now ineffective, so users who already own .coin domains will no longer be able to use them. Simply put, the domains will not work again.
Will Users Who Already Bought .coin Names be Refunded?
Well, it is reasonable to think that owners of the canceled .coin domains will be refunded their purchase money. However, Unstoppable domains have chosen to thread another route. According to the statement released on their official website, they will not be offering any refunds to the .coin domain owners. Instead, they will be offering them credits of three times what they paid.
Unstoppable domain credits are primarily used for purchasing and registering new domains, renewing domains, transferring domains and some other things. However, the credits can only be used on the platform. This development hasn’t sat right with most of the .coin domain name owners. But the reality is that they are somewhat left with no choice but to accept the credits.
Conclusion
Barely a year after the Unstoppable domain’s launch of the .coin domain, they have decided to remove it from their portfolio, meaning .coin name owners will not be able to use them. This development further confirms the shadow of doubt over the Unstoppable domain’s decentralization claim.