NFT domain name recovery
Reclaiming an NFT domain name is possible. Buying back an NFT domain name is one way of recovering a blockchain domain.
Unlike traditional domain names organized around ICANN, web3 domain names are managed on a decentralized basis.
This mode of operation has enabled structures such as ENS and Unstoppable Domains to create extensions. ETH (based on the Ethereum blockchain) and .BITCOIN (based on the Polygon blockchain) exist without having been validated by ICANN.
These alternative extensions don’t use DNS (Domain Name System), whereas NFTs work with blockchain technology.
Legal recovery of an NFT domain name incorporating a registered trademark
These new extensions are not recognized by ICANN. However, the ICANN system allows legitimate trademark holders to seek the deletion or transfer of a domain name used in bad faith via the UDRP (Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy) procedures.
For NFT domain names, there are no extrajudicial dispute resolution procedures of this type. Under these conditions, it is not possible to recover an NFT domain name via a UDRP.
Nevertheless, the holder of prior rights has legal resources at his disposal to assert his rights.
For example, it can :
- Give formal notice to the wallet holder of the disputed NFT domain name
- In the event of agreement with the latter, a request to “burn” the NFT (i.e. place it on an inaccessible wallet) may be required.
- Deregister the domain name on specialized marketplaces such as OpenSea
- Negotiate the transfer of the domain name at a reasonable price
Brand protection among NFT domain names
Faced with the rise in cybersquatting of trademarks among NFT domain names, protection mechanisms are emerging.
In this respect, Unstoppable Domains introduces a notion of protection when you carry out an availability search among NFT domain names.
This “Protected” status is explained by Unstoppable Domains.
Brand protection Unstoppable Domains
Why are certain areas protected?
“Protected domains are domains that we believe are associated with a notable brand, organization or person. We believe it’s important to increase adoption for the next generation of the Internet by helping brands enter the Web3 era. If you would like to apply for a protected domain, please fill in our protected trademarks form”.
“If a domain appears as unpublished, this means that after manual review, it can be published either as a premium domain or as a protected domain.”
At first glance, this protection is favorable to brand owners. Nevertheless, when a brand completes its application to register an NFT domain name, it is sometimes finally qualified as “premium”. If this scenario is confirmed, the brand owner will have to pay more for his domain nft than for a lambda name.
To protect their brands, companies can also subscribe to brand monitoring systems among the new NFT domain name registrations, such as “NFT Alert”.
NFT domain name buyback
One way to recover a blockchain domain is to buy it back. An NFT domain can be listed for sale at a fixed price. Alternatively, it may be put up for sale without a listed price. In this case, negotiations begin.
This works in the same way as for traditional domain names and specialized second-market platforms such as Afternic, Dan or Sedo.
Marketplaces specializing in NFT domain names exist, such as OpenSea.
Several public transactions have been revealed. For example, paradigm.eth was sold for 420 ETH in October 2021, or over $2 million at the Ethereum price at the time. In July 2022, the domain name 000.eth was sold for 300 ETH, or $317,000 at the time of the transaction.
When negotiating the purchase of a domain name, one of the difficulties is contacting the web3 domain name holder.
Contacting the owner of the wallet to which the domain nft is attached is complex. The information provided in the wallet is purely declarative.
They are often approximate, with no reliable contact details. In addition, portfolio names are always hexadecimal addresses.
This makes it difficult to contact the holder of an NFT domain name to buy it back. This “pseudonymity” makes it difficult to identify the holder.
However, there are messaging systems available to contact the owner of an NFT domain name, such as?chat.blockscan.com.
Investigation services to find a web address2 associated with the wallet also exist, such as etherscan.io.
To trace and identify a domain name holder, it is also possible to track account transactions to a cryptocurrency exchange platform in other currencies such as: binance, coinbase, kraken, …
Mandate SOLIDNAMES to buy an NFT domain name
SOLIDNAMES offers NFT domain name buyback. After contacting the current owner of the domain nft, SOLIDNAMES will negotiate the best possible price for the domain name.
Once a financial agreement has been reached, SOLIDNAMES will purchase the NFT domain name from its holder at the negotiated price.
NFT domain name repurchase operations are possible via the ERC-721 specification. It enables the transfer of an NFT from one account to another, as well as the recovery of the current owner’s address.
The negotiation mandate is free of charge. SOLIDNAMES fees are only charged in the event of a successful purchase.
ETH domain name recovery
The NFT domain name buyback service includes :
- Domain name redemption price converted into euros; many NFT domain name redemptions are made in cryptocurrencies.
- SOLIDNAMES fee for completed buy-backs only: €200 excl. tax for transactions under €5,000 excl. tax. SOLIDNAMES commission is capped at 4% of the purchase price for purchases over €5,000 excluding VAT.
- Administrative costs for recovering the domain name, including gas fees
- Bank charges
It should be noted that, unlike the purchase of a traditional domain name, it is not necessary to use a third-party escrow agent to secure the transaction. The blockchain guarantees the transaction. So there are no additional escrow fees when you buy an NFT domain name.
“Backorder .ETH domain name
Today, Unstoppable Domains (e.g. .BITCOIN, .CRYPTO or .WALLET) offer “lifetime” NFT domain name registrations. These domain names therefore have no expiration date as such.
Consequently, it is not possible to set up a public domain watch for these Unstoppable Domains. Indeed, these NFT domain names are not supposed to expire.
In contrast, ENS allows .ETH domain names to be registered for a minimum of one year, with no maximum term. If the .ETH domain name is registered for only one year, it must be renewed in order to be retained.
If the .ETH domain name is not renewed before its expiration date, ENS allows a grace period of 90 days. During this period, the holder cannot modify any registrations linked to his .ETH. However, they can still re-register it as a priority.
Backorder .ETH domain name
After this redemption period, the name is released for any new registration by a new person. The rate is higher for 21 days, then decreases as this period progresses. The published name continues to resolve to .ETH until the new owner overwrites it.
As for a classic domain name, SOLIDNAMES offers a “backorder” service to recover an NFT domain name in .ETH.
Fees are identical to those of a normal backorder, i.e. €96 excluding VAT. The public domain watch service is timeless. It remains in place until the .ETH domain name expires.
In the event of success, you must add to the price of the backorder ordered, the administrative costs of recovering the domain name, including gas fees and any bank charges.