One Year of .locker: Building the Bridge Between Web3, Web3, and the Future

12 short months ago, .locker launched into general availability with one clear mission: to make digital identity mainstream by connecting domain names with Web3 utility in a secure and trusted way. Today, that vision is a reality. Together with leading registrar partners, investors, and an incredible community of builders, we have turned the promise of blockchain-anchored identity into something real, practical, and trusted.

Through a trusted on-ramp of over 50 ICANN-accredited registrars and their resellers, .locker is bringing next-generation identity to everyday users. It is a working and evolving solution that combines a domain name with a Web3 digital identity secured on the Bitcoin blockchain and integrated with the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) to deliver a single name for both Web2 and Web3. The result is a stable, interoperable identity system built for the long term. As a leader in digital identity, our mission has always been to guide the industry forward in a way that feels trustworthy, responsible, and usable for everyone.

From Vision to Reality

Building trust in a new era of the internet takes time and collaboration. Over the past year, .locker has partnered with Namecheap, Dynadot, GoDaddy, Tucows, and others to deliver digital identities to everyday users who now see their .locker not just as a name, but as a cornerstone of their online identity.

This year also marked the launch of Digital Asset Reward Engine (DARE), the first program of its kind in the domain industry. DARE connects domains to blockchain identity through Bitcoin rewards, and within its first month, it doubled Web3 digital identity-claim rates, proving that users are ready to own their digital presence. DARE was built to do more than reward users. It was designed to bring Web3-style engagement into the world of domains, bridge traditional promotions with blockchain incentives, and help new users take their first step into Web3.

To celebrate our first anniversary, every new .locker registrant who claims their Web3 identity during November and December will receive $10 in Bitcoin as part of our ongoing effort to make digital identity adoption both rewarding and accessible.

Building the Foundation for Interoperability

At the heart of .locker is the belief that technology should empower people, not overwhelm them. Digital identity should feel friendly, familiar, and trustworthy. Users should not need to understand blockchain to benefit from it. They simply need to trust that their identity is theirs, the same way they trust their domain, their browser, and their phone. That is why we are building .locker as the cornerstone of interoperability, where DNS and Web3 meet.

With our ENS integration, .locker names now resolve seamlessly through the Ethereum Name Service, marking a major step toward a universal digital identity that works across platforms, wallets,  ecosystems, and blockchains. The future we see is one where your mobile phone becomes your digital wallet, your domain name becomes your identity, and that identity travels with you, secure, portable, and personal, wherever you go online.

Leading Through the Next Digital Revolution

We stand at the edge of a new digital era, one defined by the convergence of AI, Web3, and digital ownership. As the internet becomes more intelligent, trust will become the foundation of everything we build. .locker is leading that charge, bridging Web2 familiarity with Web3 innovation so users can move effortlessly between both worlds.

Looking ahead to 2026, we expect to see mainstream adoption of digital wallets, deeper integration between domain names and on-chain credentials, and a wave of innovation from partners who are redefining what ownership means online.

To our registrar partners, investors, community, and early adopters, thank you for believing in this vision and helping turn a big idea into a trusted solution that is shaping the future of digital identity.

And we are just getting started. We look forward to building what comes next in this exciting new world of digital ownership.

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-By Mou Mukherjee