Web browser Opera integrates .crypto domain names for users on any device

Published at: April 28, 2021

Crypto-friendly web browser Opera is expanding its integration of decentralized web pages provided by blockchain domain name provider Unstoppable Domains — a blockchain firm backed by the high-profile Bitcoin (BTC) advocate Tim Draper.

On Wednesday, Opera said that users of the browser on any platform — iOS, Android, Windows, Mac or Linux — will now benefit from full, native integration of Unstoppable Domains’ .crypto domain names. 

The move extends access to decentralized web pages to all of Opera’s estimated 320+ million monthly active users and marks Opera out among mainstream web browsers in supporting a domain name system that is not part of the dominant Domain Name Service.

The .crypto domain names are minted as nonfungible tokens on the Ethereum blockchain, providing their creators with full control and ownership rights over their pages. The .crypto names typically sell as NFTs for as little as $40, although more coveted addresses such as win.crypto, gambling.crypto and hotels.crypto were sold for $100,000 each in March of this year. 

Due to the native integration, access to .crypto sites is just as easy as a traditional .com address. For users of the decentralized web on Opera, an additional convenience is that .crypto domain names can be used instead of the unwieldy alphanumeric blockchain addresses used for payments across cryptocurrency wallets and exchanges. 

Moreover, due to Opera’s support of IPFS, users can retrieve .crypto sites from a decentralized network of computers rather than a cloud provider or server. IPFS is an acronym for InterPlanetary File System, a peer-to-peer hypermedia protocol for storing and sharing data in a distributed file system.

While decentralized web infrastructure goes some way toward circumventing censorship for publishers and posters of web domain names, Opera has previously emphasized that on the user side, VPNs may still be necessary to get around externally imposed restrictions, even for.crypto sites.

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Decentralization
Technology
Blockchain
Web3
Opera
Tim Draper
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