.Com registry gets patent for domain name blockchain user addresses.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted patent number 10,721,060 (pdf) to Verisign (NASDAQ: VRSN) for Domain name blockchain user addresses.
The abstract reads:
Techniques for DNS registry facilitated assignment of a DNS domain name registered to a registrant as a blockchain user address in a blockchain network are presented. The techniques can include providing, by a DNS registry, a public key and a computer executable registry signature verification program configured to use the public key to validate signatures made using the private key for addition to a block in a blockchain of the blockchain network. The techniques can also include receiving a request for a proof of registrar of record, and providing a proof of registration message, such that the registry signature verification program validates the signature using the public key, and the blockchain network receives and stores in the blockchain an association between the domain name and an existing blockchain user address for the registrant.
Many companies are trying to figure out how to apply blockchain technology to the DNS and vice-versa.
To simplify, domain companies want to apply the idea of easy-to-remember domain names to difficult-to-remember wallet addresses.
As for blockchain proponents, they want blockchain technology to replace the need for the “centralized” DNS that currently operates. Companies trying to replace the current DNS with blockchain face two hurdles: scaling the technology to match the centralized approach, and overcoming universal acceptance challenges.