TL;DR
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One username and account, completely owned by you, that can be used to log into anything and everything online. That’s one of Web3’s many exciting promises.
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Your crypto wallet doubles as a login account (similar to Sign up with Google) and your Web3 domain name (e.g. coolguy69.eth) as a username.
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The problem is that most websites have yet to add wallet login functionality as an option, and getting an .eth domain isn’t exactly a “new-to-use” process.
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Good news is: .eth domains have just been added to Unstoppable Domains, making the buying process a lot easier.
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You can now create an Unstoppable Domains account (email + password) and buy your .eth address with a credit card. That is it!
Full story
Here’s one of Web3’s many exciting promises:
One username and account, completely owned by you, that can be used to log into anything and everything online.
If there is an online platform or service that requires an account, you can use your crypto wallet as the login (similar to Signing up with Google) and your Web3 domain name (e.g. coolguy69.eth) as the username.
Socials, messaging, banking – you name it – it’s all one unified account.
…at least that’s the promise.
The problem is that there are a few bottlenecks that need to be resolved before this can become commonplace…
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Most websites have yet to add the ‘Login with wallet’ functionality as an option.
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Getting an .eth domain isn’t exactly a “new-user-friendly” process.
.eth addresses are the most desired and widely integrated domains (similar to .com domains in the Web2 space).
But getting one is PAIN for most people. New Web3 users must:
Set up an Ethereum wallet (eg Metamask) → create an exchange account (eg Coin base) → buy ETH with a credit card on Coinbase → send that ETH to their MetaMask wallet → go to nl.domains → find their favorite domain name → connect their MetaMask → pay in ETH → don’t forget to renew the domain as soon as it expires.
Point is: it’s a clunky user experience.
Bottleneck #1 is a problem that will be solved with time + acceptance.
…but adoption won’t happen if bottleneck #2 isn’t resolved first.
Good news is: it looks like that just happened.
Unstoppable domains (👈 that’s an affiliate link by the way) has added .eth domains to their offerings, solving the ‘Uncle Steve problem’.
That is, it makes the buying process easy enough for Chevy’s Uncle Steve to navigate (for context, Steve is a 67-year-old BlackBerry user).
Here’s how the process mentioned above works with this new system:
Create an Unstoppable Domains account (email + password) → buy your .eth address with a credit card.
That is it!
Domains can be set to auto-renew (so you don’t lose your address because of a missed payment), and they can be stored with Unstoppable or sent directly to your wallet.
Is this groundbreaking? No. Smooth online user experiences are not a new concept.
…but they are few and far between in Web3 – and this is a big step in the right direction!
Let’s hope others building in space follow suit.