The Future of Domains, Powered by D3 and DeFi

Few people realize that entire companies exist with portfolios of millions of domain names, quietly trading them like stocks. In this interview, Inder Singh, VP of Product & Technology at D3, reveals how DomainFi is set to transform that hidden market by moving domains on-chain, turning them into programmable assets that blend the worlds of Web2 and Web3.

Could you share your journey to Web3?

I’m the VP of Product and Technology at D3, and I was part of the founding team when D3 started in 2023. I’ve been in the industry for over 20 years, and this is now my seventh startup. I’ve always been a big fan of startup culture. Fred, our CEO at D3, and I actually built another company together before. When he started D3 in 2023, he asked me to join him again.

Most of my background has been in big data systems. Fred and I ran a big data marketing and advertising company, and I’ve also done a lot of research in that area. About four years ago, I started ATM.com, a company focused on helping people earn and reinvest their money using data. That was my first step into fintech, which eventually led me into crypto. Thanks to that journey, I found myself here at D3.

What’s the working definition of DomainFi? Цhich pain points in today’s DNS and ENS ecosystems does it solve?

Domains are pretty complicated, and they’re not limited to one use. We use them for websites, portfolios, shopping, and more. ENS has been great as a utility for addressing Web3 systems, but it doesn’t fully bridge into existing websites or dot-com resolution. Competitors have also been fairly limited in scope.

With DomainFi, our vision is bigger. It’s not just about creating a Web3 version of a domain, but about bringing the value of domains on-chain as programmable assets. For example, everyone knows that chat.com is valuable, even if we can’t agree on the exact price. There’s a massive global economy around buying and selling names, and Web3 is the best tool to unlock financial value from systems. DomainFi aims to bring domains on-chain in a way that integrates seamlessly with DeFi protocols.

Who do you see as the primary early adopters of DomainFi: traders, Web3 natives, brands, or registries?

I think there are two main groups. The first are existing domain investors, people already buying and selling names. For them, DomainFi offers better value, more products, and more innovation. Right now, platforms like AfterNic charge fees up to 25%, and the process is limited. With DomainFi, investors can access lending, leasing, and other features much more easily.

The second group is people who just want exposure to RWAs. They may not care specifically about domains, but they want a trustworthy asset class. For example, someone might not spend $30 million on chat.com, but they could easily invest $5,000 in a portfolio of AI-related names because they know AI is heating up. Those are the early adopters we expect.

Are domains natively on-chain assets, wrapped representations of DNS names, or both? How do you avoid fragmentation between wrappers?

Our protocol doesn’t issue domains directly; you always get a domain from a registrar. So when we create on-chain representations, they’re issued by registrars.

I don’t see Web2 and Web3 domains as separate things. If you transfer your domain on-chain, it moves in both worlds. For example, when you visit D3.com, it’s still the same domain, regardless of whether it has an on-chain token. Much like checking your bank balance from different apps, the underlying asset is the same. Registrars already control issuance, so tokenization is simply another layer under their control.

If DomainFi succeeds, what does a good outcome look like for users, registries, or open internet standards?

For users, success means easier access to domains such as RWAs and the innovation that will come from putting them on-chain. For registries and registrars, it opens a whole new wave of products. Right now, registrars mainly sell websites and email, but with Web3, they’ll be able to offer much more, driving domain sales and utility.

For internet standards, DNS is already decentralized. Our hope is to make it more programmable, with better registry integrations and on-chain representations. That benefits the whole ecosystem.

How do you imagine people using domains beyond simply holding them?

The first big use case will be on-chain portfolios of names. There are companies today that own millions of domains and flip them for profit. Moving that activity on-chain makes it easier and more liquid.

Then we’ll see more DeFi products emerge, fractionalization, lending, leasing, and collateralization. Imagine being able to fractionalize a premium name like chat.com and use it for liquidity, like taking a loan against a million-dollar house. Over time, everything we see in DeFi: yield pools, RWA-backed loans, collateralization, will be available to domain holders.

Do you see domains connecting with messaging, payments, or decentralized identity?

Absolutely. Domains can be mapped to wallet addresses, messaging IDs, and more. For example, messaging protocols like XMTP require exchanging keys, which is not user-friendly. But domains are memorable. With ENS and DNSSEC, and eventually Doma names, you can map wallet addresses, XMTP handles, and public keys directly to a domain.

That blurs the line between Web2 and Web3. Domains could unify web resolution, identity, and communication in one place.

What measures are in place to prevent misuse or theft of valuable names?

That’s the strength of the current system. No one worries about Amazon.com being stolen, because DNS already has strong protections like UDRP, registry locks, and registrar locks. Domains are decentralized enough to avoid misuse while still regulated enough to ensure stability. We’re not reinventing the wheel; we’re extending Web2’s trusted protections into Web3.

How do you make sure domains remain accessible and not just controlled by speculators?

Web3 levels the playing field. Any token, NFT, or domain on-chain is accessible to everyone. Right now, speculators dominate, but the process of buying domains is broken, with negotiations, brokers, and weeks of back-and-forth. By making speculative names more accessible, we simplify the process for regular users. Speculation won’t disappear, but access will be much easier.

What’s your view on ownership disputes, trademarks, and conflicts over names?

Trademark disputes are already handled through well-established processes that registries and registrars follow. For example, Amazon.com doesn’t worry about squatters because the system recognizes its trademark rights. Disputes go through due process, with checks and balances in place.

Since tokens are issued by registrars, those same rules apply on-chain. It may conflict with the idea of fully permissionless systems, but domains, like houses or cars, are subject to the laws of the country where they’re registered.

Which integrations or partnerships are most important for success?

Right now, our main focus is on building the protocol correctly. The beauty of DeFi is that once you have a valid token, it works everywhere: Aave, Morpho, liquidity pools, price feeds, and more.

For us, the key is utility and trust. If you see a token backed by Hockey.com, you need to feel confident that it’s legitimate. Once that trust is in place, partnerships with DeFi platforms will follow naturally.

How would you measure success for DomainFi, D3, and the Doma Protocol in the next 12 to 24 months?

Two things stand out. First, we want at least half of the top 10 registrars worldwide offering tokenization through Doma. That means millions, if not billions, of users getting onboarded to Web3 every time they buy a domain.

Second, we want everyday people to invest in domains without needing to understand the industry. Just like putting money into an ETF, they should be able to invest in domain portfolios and benefit from appreciation. That would mean we’ve unlocked domain value for both advanced traders and regular users.