So a couple weeks ago Matthew Gould the founder of Unstoppable Domains let the whole world know the company gameplan moving forward. And it’s safe to say that the Web3 community was not pleased.
First Matthew’s post:
DNS domains now compose 90%+ of our business, and as we move to get several of our TLDs also listed in ICANN over the next few years our focus will continue to grow on the DNS and traditional internet market. We expect that 2-3 years from now DNS and the traditional web will be…
— Matthew Gould (@mattgould) March 16, 2026
So Matthew laid out the fact that over 90% of UD’s business comes from DNS domains. They are going to look to get their TLD’s become ICANN regulated and use DNS. This goes against everything that Web3 maxi’s believe in. They want decentralized, no censorship, etc… But once an extension is in the DNS the alt web versions are going nowhere. Three days later Matthew mentioned he was surprised by the reaction, I honestly don’t know why. Not sure what he was expecting from the Web3 crowd, certainly not applause.
The Internet contrary to a lot of Web2 and Web3 domain investors’ opinions is about a lot more than domainers. It’s the domain extension that resolves for Grandpa Ned, and Aunt Suzy. The majority of the population is not downloading software or extensions to get something to resolve. Why would they, .com works right? .org it resolves?
Now I do understand the anger of Web3 domainers as well. They thought they were following and using a company that was a kindred spirit. But it’s why you can never have a plan based on one company’s current vision. You need to look at things from the standpoint that you are using them to provide you with what you need, but not putting all your eggs in one basket.
Companies have to look at their current model and what’s working. Now Unstoppable is not going to see .x become an approved extension but some of their other popular strings will have a good chance.
Still there are many who are upset and I wonder who will be there to help these people, do business with them? The post on X got over 60,000 views with many asking UD for their money back on the Web3 domains they purchased.
One poster (@exitIiquidity) wrote:
daaaamn these niggaz straight RUGGED
After all these years shitting on .eth and larping as a decentralized domain name service (it never was) they finally have completed the grift, ran the numbers and decided the maximum amount possible has been extracted and are now officially rugging. Absolutely hilarious. Love to see it.
Arul.eth @Collector7NFT wrote:
how can you write this?What about people who invested into Web3 domains? will you issue refund?
CoinPlatypus.eth @coinplatypus wrote:
Will unstoppable still be building out web3 domain uses and partnerships? Or are the domains effectively capped to uses that are currently available? Additionally, will these uses and partnerships be maintained? Or are the web3 domains going to become useless as time progresses? Also disappointed to hear this has been in the works for awhile, considering I just bought more .wallet domains. Is there any potential for refunds? Pricing of those domains should be significantly less if they are no longer going to be a focus of unstoppable. Feel deceived by the unstoppable team.
There are many more and when people asked for a reply none was given. What those who want to continue down the Web3 road need to be cognizant of is there might be another company who says we want your business. We will be there for you. The difficulty is knowing whether they truly mean it, or will just say, “sorry peeps gotta pivot!”