The second annual D3 Dominion Conference in Las Vegas brought together traditional DNS industry leaders and Web3 innovators. The event highlighted several key trends shaping our industry through digital assets, including fractional ownership, AI integration, and a market ready for more Web3 domain options. Some of the standout items for me included:

Transformation through blockchain integration

Fred Hsu, CEO of D3, presented their flagship project, DOMA, a purpose-built blockchain designed to modernize the way users handle trading and ownership for over 362 million domain names.

Market trends show interesting developments in the domain space. Michael Riedl, CEO of Team Internet, reported that while overall growth is steady, new gTLDs have grown 17% since 2023 and now represent 10% of all domains. Repurposed ccTLDs like .ai, .io, and .co have seen particular success, indicating evolving user preferences.

The convergence of AI and blockchain

Industry leaders discussed how AI agents could revolutionize domain discovery, valuation, and trading. Darpan Munjal of Atom.com emphasized AI's potential to improve name discovery, while Todd Han of Dynadot highlighted artificial intelligence systems' role in developing more sophisticated appraisal tools.

Fractional ownership emerged as a promising innovation

Although AI tends to be at the top of many conferences, Richard Lau of Titan Research presented one of the most compelling use cases where valuable domains like hockey.com could raise development capital through fractional ownership, creating new opportunities for both investors and domain holders. This model could unlock value in premium domains that currently sit dormant.

The conference also showcased advances in blockchain technology that could benefit the domain industry. Matt Sorg from Solana introduced "PayFi," enabling domain owners to receive payments directly through their domain addresses, while Billy Huang of Insomnia Labs demonstrated how Avalanche's infrastructure could enable instant domain transfers and new monetization models.

The domain industry stands at a crossroads

Looking ahead, the conference highlighted that 2025 could be a pivotal year for domain industry innovation. With improved regulatory clarity in the U.S. and maturing blockchain infrastructure, the timing appears right for better integrations. Our focus with Orange Domains, through .locker, has been to help evolve these areas, bridging Web2 to Web3. The focus should not be on replacing existing infrastructure but rather on enhancing it with new capabilities around ownership, trading, and monetization.

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Ready to dive into the world of web3, register your .locker with one of our trusted partners today.

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