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https://reclaimthenet.org/brave-outlines-its-crypto-dns-strategy/

May 27, 2021
Brave outlines its crypto DNS strategy
An uncensorable future.
By Didi Rankovic

The Brave browser has announced that it has started integrating blockchain-based (crypto) DNS providers, and invited those with such solutions to work with the company.

In a blog post, Brave said that it chose to start integration instead of waiting for centralized DNS (Domain Name System) providers to add options, and that the motive was to “make crypto accessible and usable to all” – something made possible by the properties of the blockchain tech itself.

Brave aims to make the process smooth by avoiding name service conflicts, and provide maximum control and choice to users. This is in line with the privacy-focused browser’s general direction of giving users better and safer browsing experience.

For the moment, the browser supports .eth and .crypto top-level domains (TLDs) but is actively talking with other providers in order to integrate them as well, the post said. Currently, the crypto domain names option is available in the browser’s desktop and Android versions, while iOS will be added soon.

Another upcoming feature is to allow the use of crypto domains in the native crypto wallet on the two mobile operating systems – this is something that’s now available only on the desktop.

The blog post details the way Brave intends to resolve domain names without conflicts, particularly regarding the TLDs reserved by ICANN, which is responsible for internet’s namespaces and numerical spaces.

Finally, users can choose their preferences in the browser’s brave://settings/extensions option.

The blockchain tech, best known for its Bitcoin implementation, allows for distribution of data over a decentralized network that is accessible to all, and is seen as having the potential to be the next step in the development of the DNS, the crucial component of the internet’s infrastructure.

Blockchain brings a peer-to-peer decentralized network that guarantees availability to the table, along with integrity of data, as well as other features that the DNS requires.

At this point, DNS blockchain solutions go in several directions, one of them being new domain name extensions, like .crypto and .eth that Brave already supports, which operate independently of ICANN, and of what may in the future become the legacy DNS.

This sounds like an excellent idea to me. I heard it a few years ago at work.

Instead of being utterly dependent on centralized name registrars and DNS servers, you could write your domain name and ip address to a blockchain, even to the Bitcoin blockchain as part of a transaction.

Since there are so many copies of the Bitcoin blockchain, it cannot effectively be censored.

By the way! I note with glee that Brave Browser is has a growing user base, while the Firefox user base is declining. The Mozilla Foundation forced out Brendan Eich for personal political contributions to keep marriage heterosexual.

I hope Brave completely wipes out Mozilla.