How to Buy Domain with Crypto
When it comes to buying domain names using crypto, there are two broad categories of registrars you have to consider using: centralized and decentralized.
Let’s examine each category separately, focusing on how you can buy a domain name from a registrar in any of them.
How to Buy Domains With Crypto From Centralized Registrars
Since the late 1980s, domain registrars have been key to the seamless functioning of the World Wide Web. These hubs on the internet register and manage website names that are easy for humans to read. Without them, we would have been forced to remember a random number like 192.168.1.1 as an address for a website.
Domain name registrars replace these random numbers with human-readable names that websites are then recognized by across the internet.
For their trouble, we pay the domain registrars an annual fee. This is generally made using traditional payment methods such as Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal. In recent years, however, several major domain registrars have added crypto to the list of payment methods that they accept.
Domain Registrars That Accept Crypto
The following is a list of major domain registrars that accept crypto:
How You Pay for Domain With Crypto
The process of buying a domain and paying with crypto on these registrars is pretty straightforward and intuitive. In most cases, the steps are similar to those you follow when you pay with other payment methods, such as debit cards or PayPal. You are only provided the option of using crypto at the point of making the payment.
When you choose that option, a crypto payment page is shown. You are then required to select and connect the wallet you prefer using. With that done, you can pick the particular crypto and even the network that you prefer to use to make the payment.
How Namecheap Accepts Crypto
Crypto isn’t one of the payment methods you can use when checking out on Namecheap. You can only use it to load your Namecheap account beforehand. That means if you plan to use crypto to pay for services on Namecheap, you first need to sell the assets using the mechanism provided.
The top-up process involves using BitPay or BTCPay payment processor. Based on the reigning market exchange rates, the processor converts your cryptocurrencies and deposits dollars into your Namecheap account. You can then use these dollars to pay for the domain or any other services that Namecheap offers.
How to Buy Domains With Crypto From Decentralized Registrars
Blockchain technology is changing how domain names are registered and managed. It is becoming possible to reserve IP addresses and their human-readable versions without going through a centralized entity.
Thanks to blockchain, decentralized domain registrars exist without being controlled or managed by a centralized entity such as a company. That means that domain names, once registered, generally can’t be censored or altered without the owner’s permission.
What that also means is that once you register a domain name, it becomes yours for good. In contrast, you don’t actually buy a domain name from a centralized registrar but lease it, and when you fail to renew the contract, the registrar makes it available to be leased by others.
With decentralized registrars, domain names are minted and traded as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). It is basically an asset you hold and use, and it can grow in value over time. If you no longer need it, you can put it up for sale on an NFT marketplace.
Domain names registered on the blockchain also come with additional capabilities besides being used to locate a website. For example, some decentralized domain protocols support using domain names that also serve as crypto payment addresses. That means you can receive payments using them as your address.
Most Notable Decentralized Domain Registrars
The following are the most notable decentralized domain registrars:
Ethereum Name Service
Ethereum is the second largest blockchain based on the amount of value processed on top of it and the number of applications that have been launched on top of it. The protocol has a component designed to provide Domain Name System (DNS) services. Initially, the most popular use of this service has been creating human-readable addresses for sending and receiving assets.
You can register a domain on the Ethereum Name Service and get a .eth or .box extension. You can renew this annually or pay for as many years as you want at a go to save on gas fees and price changes in the future. Once you pick your domain name, you are asked to connect a wallet and make the payment in ETH.
Unstoppable Domains.
This is a smart contract layer on top of the Ethereum network that enables users to register domain names. The platform offers close to 100 different domain endings. Besides the popular .com, .net, and .org, you can also register Web3 endings such as .crypto, .eth, .NFT and .wallet.
The process of buying domains on Unstoppable Domains is similar to that of most popular registrars. That means selecting the domain name you like, adding it to a shopping cart, and providing contact information.
When it comes to payment, select crypto as the payment method you want to use, select the wallet you need to pay with, select the crypto and the network, and make the payment.
Emercoin
Emercoin is a blockchain that was launched in 2013 and is built using the technology of Peercoin, another blockchain. One of Emercoin’s core services is DNS. The domain names that you can register through Emercoin carry the extensions .emc, .coin, .lib, and .bazar.
Several registrars have been launched with user-friendly interfaces through which you can register a new domain on the Emercoin platform. The most notable of these is Peercoin.com (not the official website of the Peercoin project). As part of the process of registering a domain using this registrar, you are required to make a payment, and the accepted crypto are Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple.
NEM
NEM is a blockchain that provides ways for businesses, services, and individuals to manage assets through a Smart Asset System. This system comes with identifiers similar to domains known as Namespaces and Subnamespaces.
To get a domain on NEM, you must register a Namespace through the NEM NanoWallet, the official NEM wallet. The process involves choosing a unique name for the root namespace, paying a registration fee in XEM (NEM’s cryptocurrency), and optionally creating subnamespaces for further organization.
Namecoin
This was the first ever realistic attempt to create a decentralized domain registrar. The Namecoin core software was forked from the Bitcoin blockchain in 2013. It has largely remained as an experimental project but has paved the way for other similar projects.
All the domains that are registered on the Namecoin platform carry the .bit extension. The process of acquiring a domain name on Namecoin can be a little more technical, especially compared to other available options. You may need to have some coding skills to do it.
Bottom Line
How you buy a domain with crypto depends first on whether the registrar you are using is centralized or decentralized. If it is centralized, then you are most likely going to pay through a payment processor like BitPay. For centralized registrars that do not explicitly accept crypto, the option you have is to pay with crypto debit cards or buy gift cards from marketplaces that accept crypto. For decentralized registrars, it is almost given that they accept crypto, either the native of the blockchain on which they operate or other cryptocurrencies.
FAQs
Can I pay with crypto on Namecheap?
Yes, Namecheap is one of the domain registrars that accept crypto. However, the service provider does not directly accept crypto. They allow you to top up your account on their platform by selling crypto through BTCPay or BitPay crypto payment processors. That means you sell the crypto to the processor, and the actual dollars are deposited into your Namecheap account. You can then use these dollars to pay for services on Namecheap.
Does GoDaddy accept crypto?
No, GoDaddy does not directly or through payment processors accept crypto for payment. The only way you can use your crypto to shop on GoDaddy is to sell it on an exchange and then use the proceeds to pay for services. You can also use a crypto debit card, which allows you to convert crypto to dollars when shopping. The other option is to buy GoDaddy gift cards on marketplaces that accept crypto, such as Gyft, eGifter, and BitRefill, and then use those cards to get services.
Does Hostinger accept crypto?
Yes, Hostinger accepts crypto through a crypto processor, Coingate. You can choose from tens of different cryptocurrencies to pay with. That, however, does not mean that Hostinger receives the crypto that you spend on them. The payment processor, Coingate, most likely sells most of these coins and delivers actual dollars to the company’s bank accounts.
How to buy a domain with Bitcoin?
Yes, you can buy a domain using bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies. Many domain registrars use payment processors such as BitPay and Coingate to accept crypto. A few, especially decentralized ones like the Ethereum Domain Service, accept crypto (ETH) directly. Even for those not accepting bitcoin, you can shop using crypto debit cards or buy their gift cards using crypto on marketplaces like Gyft, eGifter, and Bitrefill.