Unstoppable Domains is expanding onto Ethereum Layer 2 Base

Unstoppable Domains, the ​​blockchain-based platform that enables users to create human-readable names (rather than alphanumeric gibberish) for their crypto wallets using NFTs, is expanding onto the Ethereum Layer 2 Base built by Coinbase. This marks an expansion beyond Unstoppable Domains’ existing infrastructure on popular L2 Polygon and the Ethereum mainnet. 

In particular, the move shows Unstoppable Domains' support of Optimistic rollups, a way to scale the transaction throughput of Ethereum’s base layer and save users on gas costs by pushing transactions off-chain.

Base was built using the OP Optimistic roll-up tech stack, while Polygon relies on zero-knowledge proofs, which also push transactions off the main Ethereum network but prove the validity of those transactions using a different form of cryptography. 

“As a fully EVM-equivalent blockchain, Base allows developers to easily port existing Ethereum applications, enabling a wide range of use cases including DeFi, NFTs, social platforms, and gaming,” the startup wrote in a statement. 

Launched last year, Base has risen to become the second-largest Ethereum Layer 2 network by total value locked-in. It commands about 17% of the L2 market share — putting it just ahead of Polygon and behind Arbitrum — and sees about $500 million in transaction volume per day, according to CoinGecko.  

Similar to the Domain Name Service that serves as the backbone of the current World Wide Web, Unstoppable Domains is a way for people to register crypto-specific domain names with suffixes like .crypto, .coin, and .blockchain. However, unlike the current DNS system, Unstoppable’s domains are stored on public blockchain networks rather than private servers.

These domains can also be used to create websites uploaded onto the decentralized InterPlanetary File System. 

The startup beyond Unstoppable Domains raised a $65 million Series A funding round in 2022, valuing the company at $1 billion. Earlier this year, UD was accused by its main competitor, Ethereum Name Service, of erroneously filing for a patent for open-source software initially developed by ENS.