Major privacy-focused browser Brave is the latest browser to integrate support for decentralized domains by blockchain domain name provider Unstoppable Domains.
Brave announced Thursday that its browser now provides native support for the crypto domain name company, allowing users to seamlessly access ".crypto" domains via desktop and Android applications.
The new feature unlocks access to 30,000 decentralized websites and more than 700,000 blockchain domain names registered with Unstoppable Domains. Through the integration, the Brave browser is supporting a decentralized network not relying on the traditional Domain Name System, which is often associated with privacy issues and other risks like hijacking, denial-of-service attacks and phishing attacks.
A Brave representative told Cointelegraph that the new browser integration uses Cloudflare's DNS over HTTPS method to resolve Unstoppable Domains by default. The integration can be also configured to resolve over the Ethereum blockchain in the Brave settings, as Brave co-founder and chief technology officer Brian Bondy noted. “There is an additional setting which can only be set from settings displayed below named Ethereum. When this is set, the resolution will occur on the Ethereum blockchain directly and the page will result in an IPFS CID,” he explained.
In contrast with traditional domains that are stored on behalf of the user by custodians like GoDaddy or Google Domains, .crypto domains are stored in cryptocurrency wallets. When a user claims a blockchain domain, it is minted as a nonfungible token, or NFT, on the Ethereum blockchain, providing full ownership and control. Such domains can also point to content hosted on the InterPlanetary File System or to cryptocurrency addresses, simplifying the process of sending and receiving crypto on wallets and exchanges like Coinbase.
“Unstoppable Domains was a natural fit for us, giving our users access to the decentralized web with the ability to visit any .crypto domain name. From registering .crypto domains to hosting an NFT art gallery, to sending and receiving crypto, the possibilities are limitless for Brave users,” Bondy said.
“We see Web3 as the future of the internet, where everyone has ownership and control of their own content. Brave’s integration with Unstoppable Domains means easy access to the decentralized internet without the hassle of browser extensions or custom DNS settings,” Unstoppable Domains co-founder and CEO Matthew Gould noted.
As previously reported by Cointelegraph, .crypto domains have already been available on major mainstream browsers since February through Cloudflare's integration. In April, crypto-friendly web browser Opera expanded its .crypto support to browsers on all platforms including iOS, Android, Windows, Mac and Linux.