Patent for blockchain-based domain name registrar — 3DNS gets

Patent covers a way to connect domain names to blockchain counterparts.

On Tuesday, domain name firm 3DNS was granted a patent for Blockchain-based domain name registrar and management system. The patent is the one that I wrote regarding when it was published earlier this year. U.S. Patent Number 12,147,978 (pdf) is summarized as:

Introduced here are techniques/technologies that allow a blockchain-based domain name registrar and management system to convert domain names and their corresponding DNS records into on-chain assets that are stored and managed directly on a blockchain. The blockchain-based registrar system uses smart contracts, on the Ethereum network, to support the features and functions required by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to be an accredited domain registrar. More specifically, the blockchain-based registrar system supports full feature parity with traditional web2 registrars, allowing for fresh domain names to be registered and existing domain names to be transferred and renewed. A nameserver of blockchain-based domain name registrar and management system receives a first request from a client device to access a webpage. The nameserver generates a blockchain query based on the request for querying a domain registrar blockchain. The domain registrar blockchain stores domain name registration data in smart contracts. The nameserver sends the blockchain query to the domain registrar blockchain. The domain registrar blockchain checks the smart contracts to determine whether the requested domain name is stored on the domain registrar blockchain and retrieves a nameserver identifier. The nameserver identifier is used to retrieve a DNS record for the webpage and information from the retrieved DNS record (e.g., an IP address) is provided to the client device.

3DNS partners with an ICANN-accredited registrar to initiate domain registrations off-chain, then securely tokenize them, providing developers with an on-chain asset for web3 purposes. 3DNS founder Paul Gauvreau shared his vision for an on-chain domain name registrar in DNW Podcast #460.