Web3 usernames may see greater adoption due to recent advancements

Ever because the Ethereum Identify Service (ENS) was launched in 2017, Web3 customers have been capable of exchange the lengthy strings of characters that make up a crypto tackle with a extra simply memorized blockchain username or Web3 domain name. For instance, Ethereum customers can now ship crypto to the community’s founder, Vitalik Buterin, at his username, vitalik.eth, with out realizing that his tackle is 0xd8da6bf26964af9d7eed9e03e53415d37aa96045.

However regardless of this development making it a lot simpler to determine customers, hardly anybody has taken benefit of it. There are over 200 million distinctive addresses on Ethereum, but solely 2.2 million .eth names were registered as of January. This means that at least 97% of Ethereum addresses are not associated with an ENS username.

This lack of usernames creates user experience problems in the Web3 ecosystem. Just imagine if early email addresses had consisted of long strings of characters that looked like 0x7a16ff8270133f063aab6c9977183d9e72835428 or 0x3A7937851d67Ee2f51C959663749093Dc87D9C9a. If this had been the case, email may not have survived as a practice.

But despite this initial lack of adoption, there is some evidence that the tide may be turning in favor of Web3 usernames. A few recent advancements in wallet and messaging apps may onboard more users than ever before.

One of these advancements is better wallet integration with free usernames.

Wallet integration and free usernames

Wallets have had the ability to understand Web3 names for a long time. According to MetaMask’s changelog, it introduced the ability to send to a .eth name in October 2017, right after ENS launched. Other wallets have followed suit with this feature, including Coinbase Wallet, Trust Wallet and others. Some of these wallets have also integrated with ENS rivals Unstoppable Domains, Space ID, Bonfida and others.

However, these wallets still show a crypto address to users by default, as new users don’t typically receive names automatically.

For a user to receive crypto via their Web3 name, they need to first register a username with a particular name provider. This means figuring out which provider to use, navigating to the provider’s interface and going through the registration process.

To make matters worse, names can be expensive. ENS names typically cost $5 and expire after a year, while Unstoppable Domains names that do not need to be renewed typically cost from $20–$40. Compare this with how easy it is to sign up for an email address for free using Gmail, Outlook or Yahoo, and it’s easy to see why most crypto users don’t have a Web3 username.

A few wallet apps have been trying to solve this problem by giving away free domain names to their users. For example, Coinbase Wallet allows new users to register a single .cb.id username without cost as soon as per yr, and Kresus pockets offers its users a free .kresus username of as much as eight characters.

This follow of giving out free usernames has begun solely just lately. And a few widespread wallets like Belief Pockets and MetaMask nonetheless don’t provide the characteristic. However as extra customers onboard to the Web3 ecosystem, this will result in better adoption of Web3 usernames over time.

One other latest development is instantaneous messaging integration.

Chat messaging with Web3 usernames

Some messaging apps have begun implementing Web3 names as usernames, growing these names’ utility past the funds use case. One instance is Blockscan Chat, which permits customers to ship instantaneous messages to any Ethereum tackle or ENS username.

Messages which might be despatched utilizing Blockscan Chat produce alerts on the Etherscan block explorer. If the recipient sees the alert and logs into the app, they will learn it. The app’s developer claims that each one of its messages are end-to-encrypted. So, though anybody can see if a selected consumer has acquired a message, solely the sender and recipient can learn it.

Web3 usernames aren’t an absolute necessity for utilizing Blockscan Chat, because it does enable customers to ship messages to crypto addresses. However names do make it a lot simpler for customers to seek out one another within the app.

One other instance is Grill.chat, a messaging app working on the Subsocial community. When a consumer first indicators up for it, they’re assigned a random username. However they will optionally attach an Ethereum wallet to their account. In the event that they do that, the app mechanically converts their random username into their .eth username.

With the ability to discover different customers to speak with by way of their Web3 usernames is arguably a extra helpful characteristic than with the ability to ship crypto with them.

In any case, the crypto group continues to be small. If a crypto consumer wants cash from associates or household, they might be higher off utilizing conventional Web2 apps like Venmo or Apple Pay, as their family and friends could not know learn how to use a Web3 pockets. But when an individual desires to speak particularly about crypto and Web3 apps, with the ability to look them up by their username might turn into an enormous benefit. This added use case could entice extra customers to undertake Web3 names sooner or later.

One other latest development in Web3 names is cross-chain names.

Cross-chain Web3 names

When Web3 names have been first invented, ENS was the one protocol that might be used to create them, and it might solely be used on Ethereum.

However the Web3 ecosystem has since grown to embody many alternative chains. And because the variety of chains has grown, so has the variety of naming protocols. Customers can now register Polygon usernames from Unstoppable Domains, Solana ones from Bonfida, and each Arbitrum One and BNB Chain names from House ID.

This fragmentation throughout chains could make integration tough for wallets and block explorers, and confuse customers. For instance, suppose an individual’s Polygon username is newton.crypto. However after they go to register the identical identify on BNB Chain, they discover that newton.bnb is already taken, in order that they register einstein.bnb as a substitute. When a consumer seems at this particular person’s tackle on a block explorer, both identify might seem, relying on which one the developer of the block explorer has chosen to show. And no matter which one is displayed, it might confuse customers.

On this case, for instance, if a consumer desires to ship crypto to newton.crypto by way of BNB Chain, they might simply ship it to newton.bnb as a substitute, which is able to turn into the mistaken recipient.

Just a few Web3 firms are attempting to repair this downside by making a single identify for every id throughout a number of chains. For instance, the Redefined app permits customers to register for a username on Arbitrum One and use it to obtain funds on eight different chains: Polygon, Optimism, BNB Chain, Solana, Bitcoin, Fantom, Moonbeam and Close to.

To make this characteristic potential, Redefined lets the consumer write an tackle or username for every community into the Arbitrum sensible contract by a “handle” tab throughout the app. As soon as the addresses are listed within the contract, any particular person can provoke a transaction to the proper tackle utilizing a “ship” operate throughout the app. To ship funds, the sender solely must know the recipient’s Redefined username, not the recipient’s identify or tackle on any explicit chain.

Redefined usernames start with an @ and wouldn’t have extensions. For instance, @newton and @einstein are potential Redefined usernames.

Did.id, additionally known as “.bit,” is the same mission that runs on the Nervos Community. It permits customers to register for a .bit username that works throughout 39 completely different networks, together with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, Bitcoin Money, Web Pc and plenty of others. Registration could be performed instantly with a Nervos Community pockets or not directly utilizing Polygon.

Did.id doesn’t characteristic a consumer interface with a “ship” operate. Nevertheless, it’s built-in with 9 completely different pockets apps, together with imToken, Tokenpocket, MathWallet, Huobi Pockets, Bitkeep, HyperPay, AlphaWallet, ViaWallet, and MIBAO. So it’s out there to senders who use these wallets.

Cross-chain usernames are yet one more new growth which will spur better adoption of Web3 usernames over time.

When will usernames catch on?

Regardless of these developments, it’s nonetheless not clear how lengthy mass adoption of Web3 usernames will take. Proper now, over 90% of Web3 addresses should not related to any username. So there’s a big hill to climb by way of adoption. And within the meantime, customers nonetheless want to chop and paste an advanced string of characters to seek out an individual’s Web3 id.

There may be additionally nonetheless loads of friction left for customers, together with the persevering with excessive price of registering a reputation for customers of most pockets apps.

Even so, these developments could pave the best way for the mass adoption of Web3 usernames in some unspecified time in the future sooner or later.