Blockchain domains to Japanese market — GMO offers

Firm creates standalone site to sell Unstoppable Domains blockchain domains.

GMO Internet Group, a sizable domain name firm in Japan, has created a fresh site to promote blockchain domain names to its clients in Japan.

CryptoName by GMO is a partnership with Unstoppable Domains, one of the blockchain-based naming platforms.

Unstoppable Domains states this is the first partnership it has done with a traditional domain name registrar.

GMO is selling the domains on a unique site rather than one of its regular registrar brand sites. There are three registrars I’m aware of that intermingle ICANN-managed domains with alt-root blockchain domains. Namecheap and PorkBun sell Handshake second level domains, and Encirca acts as a go-between for firms wishing to register .eth Ethereum Name Service domains and some Handshake domains. (Listen to an interview with Encirca president Thomas Barrett here.)

I think GMO’s approach is smart. Blockchain domains are right now used for fundamentally different purposes than regular domains (wallet addresses vs. websites). Offering them on a traditional registrar search, at least at this point in time, would likely cause confusion. Additionally, there are unanswered questions regarding name collisions between competing blockchain naming platforms and, ultimately, the ICANN root. This could create issues in the future for traditional registrars selling blockchain domains.