Are decentralized domains still a thing?

[Joshua Farrell]

For those who don't know, Namecoin was the first cryptocurrency project that brought the concept of "decentralized domain names". Ethereum came after and ENS was developed. For an Internet that's utterly-centralized, this is a good start. We would have many websites built on P2P tech, all without the single point of failure. These days we have IPFS and several other alternative networks aimed to make the Internet more decentralized. This, combined with a decentralized domain, should make the web truly unstoppable. But to my surprise, the number of websites using decentralized tech are pretty scarce these days.

Do you think decentralized domain names are still a thing? Or will they become nothing but a failed experiment? Do you think blockchain networks will be able to replace the ICANN in the future? Your input will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[Goldynn89]

The problem is that many people don't know of them or how they work. I also see no real benefit for people who don't have a lot invested in crypto, financially or technologically.

 

[mrki444]

Do you think blockchain networks will be able to replace the ICANN in the future?

Blockchain and ICANN are two different things. ICANN don't depend on blockhain and it never will. Blockchain need ICANN. If ICANN don't open new domain extension you can't use it on any register or access from anywhere. Not matter where is hosted, centralized server or decentralized as blockchain.