Web3 domains startup D3 secures $5 million seed round funding

D3 Global, a domain name startup looking to bring the benefits of Web3 to the Domain Name System (DNS), has raised $5 million in a seed funding round.

Per the company, which launched in May this year, the funding round was led by blockchain-focused early-stage venture capital firm Shima Capital.

Participating investors included venture firms Lightshift, Dispersion Capital, VentureSouq, Infinite Capital, Kestrel0x1, Nonagon, MZ Web3 Fund, and C² Ventures. The startup also attracted capital injection from Arthur Hayes’ Maelstrom and Identity Digital, founded by Paul Stahura.

Bridging Web2 and Web3 in DNS landscape

D3 said in a press release that it plans to team up with top Web3 ecosystems as it bids to acquire new Top Level Domains (TLDs). These, the startup noted, would be targeted at providing secure identities that’ll be natively supported across all browsers and devices.

Apart from its focus on the TLDs during ICANN’s (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), D3 plans to tap into its patent-pending technology to bring further interoperability across Web2 and Web3. Success on this could see users benefit from added “utility, security, and universal access on critical internet infrastructure.”

Fred Hsu, co-founder and CEO of D3 Global said the company’s vision extends beyond what the community knows as the traditional utility of domain names.” Other than seeing domain names as merely website addresses, D3 wants to see more versatility and security as traditional DNS and Web3 converge. Hsu added:

“We aim to fully utilize blockchain technology to offer domains that serve as secure digital identities.”

Shima Capital’s managing partner Yida Gao believes D3 is poised to revolutionise the domain name space, ushering in what he sees as the “real metaverse.” According to Gao, this is what having ICANN-accredited domains to represent digital property rights brings to the ecosystem.

The VC is thus keen on supporting the D3 team amid the push to integrate domains into an ever-expanding blockchain-based digital identity industry.

Initiatives around this end will include an on-chain marketplace designed to cater to legacy domains. D3 expects to pioneer this marketplace, which will see the tokenization of more than 1,000 TLDs, including .COM, .NET, and .XYZ.

The project should help ease the friction witnessed when handling domain name transactions via traditional infrastructure. D3’s blockchain marketplace will help users surmount challenges such as low transparency, transaction delays and high broker fees.

The post Web3 domains startup D3 secures $5 million seed round funding appeared first on Invezz.