Indian cryptocurrency exchange Unocoin has adopted the blockchain-based Unstoppable Domains, which simplifies crypto transactions by turning blockchain addresses into human-readable web URLs.
Announced on Wednesday, the partnership between Unocoin and Unstoppable Domains — both funded by Silicon Valley investor Tim Draper — is expected to reduce remittance costs and simplify the transaction process for the exchange’s 1.2 million users.
Unstoppable Domains turns crypto addresses into decentralized websites on the Ethereum and Zilliqa blockchains. Instead of sending coins to a 42-character blockchain address, Unstoppable Domains allows users to create simple URLs ending in “.crypto” and “.zil” extensions. Domain names need only be purchased once, and then exist forever on the blockchain without requiring any renewal or maintenance fees.
The decentralized aspect of Unstoppable Domains should be of particular interest to Indian crypto users, especially amid the furor created by the Finance Ministry’s decision to ban the use of Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies.
Pushback against the country’s plan to outlaw cryptocurrency has emerged on social media in the form of the #IndiaWantsBitcoin campaign. Despite regulatory uncertainty, the co-founder and CEO of Unocoin, Sathvik Vishwanath, sees the adoption of Unstoppable Domains as being in line with the maturation of the crypto industry in India. Vishwanath said:
“The cryptocurrency space is maturing. In line with the growth of the industry, Unocoin aims to offer its users the best possible experience. Integrating the .crypto domain is a significant step not only for Unocoin users, but also for additional exchanges in the country exploring simpler and more user-friendly options for their users."
Unstoppable Domains co-founder Brad Kam referenced the reluctance of the Indian government to allow the spread of cryptocurrency within its borders:
“India’s population has been historically scorned from cryptocurrency. Unstoppable Domains is excited to deliver the seamless sending and receiving of cryptocurrency to Unocoin’s users. Our aim is to simplify cryptocurrency addresses, and establish human readable names as the domain standard across wallets and exchanges."
On Wednesday, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das reiterated the central bank’s intention to create its own centrally issued currency, the digital rupee. This follows a common trend that has emerged in recent years as national governments attempt to reign-in the spread of decentralized cryptocurrencies and replace them with digital versions of existing fiat currencies.
As reported by Cointelegraph, Unstoppable Domains was recently integrated into Cloudflare’s Distributed Web Resolver, meaning any web browser can now access the .crypto URL extensions.
A spokesperson for Unstoppable Domains confirmed to Cointelegraph that even if Unocoin were to be shut down in the near future, the addresses and URLs created through the platform would remain unaffected. How Indian authorities would react to the use of such technology in the event of a full crypto ban remains to be seen.