3 Aug 2018 07:00
For release: 07.00am 3 August 2018
Minds + Machines Group Limited
("MMX" or the "Company")
Ethereum Partnership
Minds + Machines Group Limited (AIM: MMX), one of the world's leading owners and operators of Internet Top-Level Domains ("gTLDs"), is pleased to announce that it has entered into an exclusive agreement that will enable Ethereum's Ethereum Name Service ("ENS") to be integrated into the services marketed by registrars to consumers in MMX's, soon to be launched top-level domain, .luxe. The ICANN-approved .luxe extension is set to shortly enter its pre-launch phases ahead of going on sale to the public from 30 October 2018.
Under the agreement, any name of a registrant's choice in the .luxe registry (an abbreviation for "Lets U Xchange Easily") can be associated through the Ethereum blockchain with the 40 character hash identifier that currently denotes any Ethereum asset, item or service supporting Ethereum. As a result, a memorable .luxe name can act as the public identifier for an individual's Ethereum asset instead of the complex and long 40 character hash identifier.
MMX believes the market opportunities for the .luxe service are significant: specifically in the areas of cryptographic wallets, and the emerging sectors of smart contracts and decentralised apps (DApps).
For example, in the crypto wallet market, there are already over 26 million wallets in use. Currently, for two holders of Ethereum supporting wallets to transfer Ethereum or Ethereum-based tokens between themselves, the recipient has to provide the sender their unique 40 character wallet hash (eg. 0x314159265dd8dbb310642f98f50c066173c1259b) for the sender to then re-enter the hash to effect the transfer. Under the .luxe service, the recipient will be simply able to share the blockchain enabled .luxe word that they have associated to their wallet (eg. helen.luxe instead of 0x31415926dd…….). Wallets supported by the .luxe ENS service at launch will represent those used by the majority of Ethereum users.
The same process of replacing 40 character identifiers with relevant and user friendly .luxe names can also, in principle, be applied to all Ethereum assets or services - eg. smart contracts, distributed storage, DApps etc., making the potential addressable market for easy-to-remember blockchain enabled .luxe names significantly broader than just the crypto wallet market.
MMX and the keyholders of the ENS believe the secure association of understandable words to Ethereum items or services can significantly facilitate the movement of Ethereum assets, as well as usage of services based on the Ethereum blockchain, across the Internet by end-users.
Toby Hall, CEO of MMX, said:
"MMX is committed to working alongside ICANN and leading technology partners to ensure domain names continue to have real relevance to entrepreneurs, developers and end-users in the twenty-first century. We already know from Ethereum's test in its non-ICANN authorised .eth zone that there is a real proven demand for word-based identifiers that are blockchain enabled, ENS having received deposits of over $28 million on approximately 300,000 seven character words and above in the .eth zone. We look forward to working with ENS to allow those .eth registrants the opportunity to claim their equivalent .luxe name before the Company launches .luxe for sale to the general public in late October. We are delighted to have developed a deep working relationship with the keyholders of ENS."
In addition to the blockchain related functionality, the .luxe extension will also allow names to resolve over the internet in the normal way for email or web-based traffic. Users will therefore be able to complement those .luxe addresses that they use for traditional internet activity with those that they use for their Ethereum related items or services.
Nick Johnson, lead developer and a root key holder of ENS, commented:
"We're very excited to be helping advance integration between existing DNS-based name services and the Ethereum Name Service, improving usability for blockchain applications and users."
.luxe launch timetable
The ICANN mandated Trademark Sunrise period, where certain trademark holders can claim their respective trademarks, will begin 9 August and run to 8 October 2018. There will then be a Limited Registration Period, 9-25 October, where registrants of the circa 300,000 .eth names already registered can claim their equivalent name in .luxe. Names will then be available to the public on a first-come first-served basis from October 30. During the first seven days of public sale, there will be an Early Access period where registrants will be charged an additional fee to secure the names of their choice.
Further information on the .luxe launch will be available at www.join.luxe
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The information communicated in this announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014.
About MMX
Minds + Machines Group Limited (LSE: MMX) is the owner and operator of a world class portfolio of 32 top-level domain assets (gTLDs). As a sales and marketing-led registry business, we are focused on commercializing our portfolio in partnership with our expanding global network of distribution partners.
The MMX portfolio is currently focused around geographic domains (e.g. .london, .boston, .miami, .bayern), professional occupations (e.g. .law, .abogado, and .dds), consumer interests (e.g. .fashion, .wedding, .vip), lifestyle (e.g. .fit, .surf, .yoga), outdoor activities (e.g..fishing, .garden, .horse) and generic names such as .work and .casa. The Company also recently acquired the ICM portfolio of four high value, niche TLDs. As a business, we work through our expanding international network of registrars and distribution partners to bring the benefits of affinity based domain addresses and identifiers to B2B and consumer audiences. For more information on MMX, please visit www.mmx.co