Among the dozens of applications running on Everscale, a few are especially popular. One of them is the blockchain domain system called Evername, launched in 2022.
Although other blockchains have similar apps, such as Ethereum Name Service, Evername stands out with additional features that provide an even smoother experience, making it convenient even for beginners.
In this article, you will learn about web3 domain registries and their connection to DNS, and also familiarize yourself with how to obtain a web3 domain in Evername.
What is Web3 Domain Registry and How is It Related to DNS?
Evername is the first blockchain domain registry for Everscale, and this concept has evolved from DNS, widely used in the modern Web.
Every public website is accessible via a unique IP address, a numerical label ensuring data reaches its correct destination online, similar to how a home address directs mail. They are written as long and complex numbers, difficult to remember and use. To tackle that issue, a website domain name was invented.
For instance, our website has the domain name “everscale.network” and several IP addresses such as 172.66.0.96 or 162.159.140.98.
Domain names are powered by the Domain Name System (DNS), which ties domains to their corresponding IP addresses, facilitating a more accessible and user-friendly experience on the internet.
Same as an IP address, a blockchain address is complex and hard to memorize. In Everscale, it is a list of digits and characters written like this: 0:ac21b2bcb872e445277500db1297ae5g45e81c3m6008e747ad7ad35a20d934a8. You can browse Everscan and look for real addresses up there.
Similar to a website domain, a web3 domain is a way to make an on-chain address easier and more user-friendly by creating concise, memorable aliases. The registration of a web3 domain and its linking to a certain blockchain address is provided by a decentralization application, a registry.
Unlike the conventional DNS, managed by a centralized entity, such a web3 domain registry runs on a blockchain, which makes it possible to make the registration of a web3 domain and storing of ownership data transparent, secure, and resistant to censorship, thanks to its decentralized nature.
How Does Evername Work?
Being the web3 domain system for Everscale, Evername enables buying, registering, and even trading web3 domains ending with “.ever” within the Everscale ecosystem. After the registration, you are able to use your web3 domain as your transaction address within Everscale.
For example, by purchasing the “john.ever” domain and securing an NFT for your address, other participants will be able to send you cryptocurrencies to “john.ever”, bypassing the need to enter your lengthy blockchain address. Apart from a web3 domain registration, you can register web3 subdomains, adding another layer of customization and utility.
Furthermore, Evername issues a non-fungible token (NFT) directly to your Everscale address once a web3 domain is bought. This token not only secures your ownership rights but makes them “liquid”, allowing you to transfer a domain to another user or sell it on the market. Specifically, Tokstock offers a specialized section for trading Everscale domains.
A while ago, Evername domains were integrated into Qamon, Everscale’s decentralized email service. This enables the use of obtained web3 domains as email addresses, further expanding the practicality of Evername domains.
How to Purchase and Register a Web3 Domain with Evername?
To start, it's essential to say that Evername domains are exclusively bought using WEVER, a wrapped version of the EVER cryptocurrency. Various methods for acquiring WEVER can be found on the EVER Wallet’s website. Refer to a dedicated service for wrapping and unwrapping EVER tokens.
One more important note: similar to traditional domain names, web3 domain ownership within Evername is temporary, ranging from 1 to 5 years.
Registering a web3 domain via Evername requires the EVER Wallet application, available as a Chrome extension. To start, connect your wallet to the Evername website by clicking the button located in the upper right corner. Then, type in the desired name for your domain in the search bar, like this:
After hitting the “Search” button, you'll see data for a given domain name. If it is not registered yet, an “Available” status highlighted by a green indicator will appear at the top of the search results page. In case the domain is already taken by another user, additional information about the current owner and the domain's expiration date will be displayed, indicating when the domain might become available again.
Here is the search result for a domain name “fedorstares.ever” before its registration:
The price for a 1-year registration will be listed atop the results. Pricing is inversely related to domain length: the fewer characters are in the web3 domain name, the higher the prices. For instance, our example "fedorstares.ever," comprising 11 characters, is priced at 90 WEVERs. A name with 12 characters would cost 45 WEVERs, effectively half as much.
Next, scroll a bit down and you will see the setting for the duration of your ownership. While it can be extended later, note that a small gas fee applies for each transaction to extend the duration of a web3 domain ownership.
When ready to pay, click the “Register” button at the bottom of the page. After confirming a transaction through your wallet, the search results page for a given web3 domain will be updated with information on a new owner and the auction:
The auction comprises another Evername’s distinctive feature that gives other users a chance to challenge a web3 domain ownership, elevating the competitiveness. Upon registering a web3 domain, there is an opportunity to initiate an auction by placing a higher bid, with the auction lasting one week from the initial claim.
Because we bought the domain “fedorstares.ever” on March 25, 2024, the end date of the auction was set to April 1, 2024. Since there were no other bidders, ownership rights were transferred to the original buyer just right after the deadline.
To verify the process's success, you can search the domain name “fedorstares.ever” on Evername and view the issued NFT in the Everscale blockchain explorer.
Regardless of an auction, you will get the chance to associate your web3 domain with your Everscale address right after registration, as well as receive a corresponding NFT to your wallet.
As we already mentioned, you have the option to sell your domain and associated rights on Tokstock.io. The marketplace lists all the owned domains, although only a selection is currently for sale, with prices starting from 300 EVER tokens for the domain everscale-app. ever, as of March 25, 2024.
Using Evername Domain Name for Transfers
The last thing left to do is to connect a domain name you bought with your blockchain address. You can use a command prompt in the Evername documentation. Navigate to the bottom of the page until you reach a paragraph called “Mapping an Address to a Domain”. Enter your domain name and the Everscale address you want to associate it with. We used the same address for both purchasing and linking. Finally, just hit the “Set Target Address” button.
If the domain name successfully connects to a specified address, you will see a new line in your wallet starting with “DeName”:
Now, those who send you tokens will be able to use your domain name instead of your Everscale address while sending you tokens:
Final Thoughts
By breaking up complex blockchain addresses into memorable domain names Evername is a significant advancement, which makes the daily usage of Everscale more convenient.
Besides the on-chain domain registration, Evername also brings ownership back into users’ hands by bounding these domains to NFTs that make ownership rights a new asset to benefit from.
Now that you learned more about Evername, it is time to register your first web3 domain name!
