1.country -- Web2 Domain names meet Web3 Profiles

PALO ALTO, Calif., March 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Hidden State, a Harmony ecosystem partner, announced the launch of world's first integrated platform for Web2 domain names and Web3 profiles, giving users a unified digital identity & brand solution. 1.country is a game-changing approach that delivers users with a one-stop-shop for domain registration, management, monetization and more.

Until today, users could either buy a traditional web domain name through domain name registrars or a Web3 domain name based on smart contracts. With 1.country they don't have to choose. 1.country delivers an ICANN approved top-level domain with the superpowers of smart contracts. Harmony's ecosystem developers are working on adding new features, such as SMS wallet capabilities, token gated content, and an open development kit for anyone to build tools and products upon.

As Web3 evolves, creators need a solution to own their data and identity, figure out new business models, and capture the value that the current web fails to deliver. The current Internet is dominated by advertising business models which extract value from users — 1.country opens a new era of possibilities for digital commerce to empower them.

1.country leverages Harmony — one of the most scalable open blockchains with uniform sharding and 2-second finality. This allows users to buy a domain name without incurring high fees. Additionally, 1.country enables users to obtain a browsable domain within 5 minutes, significantly faster than the hours or days it takes for traditional website certification. Moreover, by using 1.country, users can make permissionless purchases without the need to share personal information such as credit card details, emails, or physical addresses. This eliminates the need for users to worry about their personal information being compromised or misused.

"With 1.country domains, we are bringing a world's first yet again. This showcases what Harmony and our community can enable. We've been through a lot of adversity and I am extremely proud of our team for staying focused on building the future. We are thrilled to launch this new platform to bring the worlds of Web2 and Web3 closer together. With the support of our amazing community, we will continue to build, push forward and create value," said Stephen Tse, Founder of Harmony.

Web3 identity is a rapidly growing space with projects such as Ethereum Name Service and Unstoppable Domains gaining over 5 million total registrations. Meanwhile Web2 profile pages like Linktree are serving 15 million users. 1.country combines the best of both worlds with a Web3 .1 name service directly linked to a Web2 profile.

With the goal of building the Internet where users own their personal assets, data, and communities, .country is the extension of the digital nations or network state ethos. A network state is a highly aligned online community with a capacity for collective action. By claiming a 1.country, users can start building their own digital communities and Web3 nations.

Harmony operates the .country top level domain and brings together the integration of Web2 and Web3 after significant engineering development. The Web3 connection with the Web2 domain registry is developed at the infrastructure level by Hidden State LLC, a Harmony ecosystem partner.

Get ready for the future of the Internet with Web3, and discover how it's becoming a reality by claiming your domain name on harmony.one/1.

About Hidden State LLC
Hidden State LLC provides state-of-the-art solutions in blockchain infrastructure, wallet, security, forensics, and machine learning. Learn more at hiddenstate.xyz.

About Harmony
Harmony is an open and fast blockchain. Its mainnet runs Ethereum applications with 2-second transaction finality and 100 times lower fees. Harmony is an open platform for assets, collectibles, identity, and governance. Learn more at harmony.one.

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SOURCE Harmony