Entropy.xyz – Google Domains customer – (United States)
.XYZ’s blossoming reputation as the domain of choice for crypto and blockchain projects has inspired many remarkably talented individuals to join the movement and launch their ideas on .xyz domains. Facebook Live creator Randi Zuckerberg and venture capital firm M13 founder Debbie Soon developed their community platform designed to embrace and empower all web3 creators on TheHug.xyz. Venture capitalist Kevin Rose hosts his NFT-focused podcast on Proof.xyz, which led to the development of his record-breaking NFT collection Moonbirds.xyz1. Accomplished finance professional Alex Slobodnik created web3 chat platform NftyChat.xyz to foster community amongst ENS users, and chose .xyz because “.xyz felt new and fresh, just like web3.” In this week’s #WebsiteWednesday, as interviewed by some of our own LGBTQ+ members of the XYZ Team, we’ll introduce you to Tux Pacific, a trailblazing hacker, cryptographer, anarchist, entrepreneur, and member of the transgender community, who raised $25 million to launch an innovative crypto custodian: Entropy.xyz.
Entropy.xyz is the online home of Entropy, a decentralized crypto custodian aiming to revolutionize the way crypto is stored. The Brooklyn, New York-based startup offers services that specialize in creating a decentralized network harnessing advanced threshold cryptography. TechCrunch recently featured founder and CEO Tux Pacific in praise of raising $25 million for Entropy’s seed round led by technology venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz2. Previously, Entropy.xyz completed a $1.95 million pre-seed raise in January 2022. Learning of Entropy.xyz‘s momentum and Tux Pacific’s powerful individuality inspired us to reach out to learn more.
.XYZ regularly celebrates our diverse community, and we wanted to take this incredible opportunity to bring visibility to Tux and their experience as a member of the transgender community. Representation matters in so many ways. It can serve as an opportunity for marginalized people to find community support and validation. If there are other members of the transgender community looking to make their way in tech, perhaps getting to know more about Tux can help encourage them. Additionally, exposure through media representation (including this #WebsiteWednesday) can aid in the reduction of stereotypes of marginalized groups, like the LGBTQ+ community. We applaud when someone who has the opportunity to represent their identity group, especially within the field of tech, makes conscious efforts to use their influence to remind others that their communities not only exist, but are doing great things. We are appreciative of Tux for taking the time to speak with us.
XYZ: You recently expressed to TechCrunch that you’re accustomed to forging your own path, and lacked relatable role models while you were growing up. What advice would you offer to a member of the LGBTQ+ community who may feel alone or isolated, but is looking to forge their way in tech?
Tux: Kill your idols. Be so unique that they can’t look away or forget your name. We stand on the shoulders of giants who all carved their own paths in eccentric loneliness. Your eccentricity is what will force you to carve your own path, but it will also attract similar eccentrics who will make that easier.
XYZ: That is powerful. Many people give up safety in order to live their most authentic and eccentric lives, and it can be a bold move to make. Sometimes it is necessary for survival, and sometimes it is born out of the urge to be the change. Did you set out hoping to become that role model that you never had yourself? Or was it an added bonus?
Tux: I don’t really want to be a role model. I’m almost certain that those who may look up to me will find themselves disappointed by many things. I set out with my own personal aspirations and I am seeking to accomplish them. I suggest others do the same with or without my inspiration
XYZ: The term role model is something that can carry additional weight and expectations. Representation is often just as valuable. Simply being visible and sharing information about your own path can make such a difference. We’re grateful that you chose to share more of your story with us! Are you comfortable sharing if you’ve faced any particular pushback as a founder, related to being trans or having they/them pronouns? Speaking of – have you seen Pronouny.xyz?
Tux: I have seen Pronouny — it’s a very cool project! The only pushback I’ve received, thankfully, are various bits here and there of transmisogyny. When you’re in a position of power (which so few trans people find themselves in), you will find that the other common inhabitants of power begin to warp their perception of reality to your own in a game of mimicry to either impress or otherwise get something from you. Whether or not they truly believe in your liberation and freedom is a different topic. I would suggest to other trans founders that they try and find similar positions of power to inhabit such that it becomes nonoptimal for folks to give them any “pushback.”
XYZ: For those that are not familiar, the term transmisogyny is a form of discriminmation, harassment, contempt, and other negative experiences directed at and experienced by trans women and transfeminine people. We have listed some resources at the bottom of this post that are tech communities centered around supporting LGBTQ+ groups, which can be of help when combating these experiences. Were you motivated by anyone/anything in particular during the ups and downs of the journey to becoming a founder?
Tux: My biggest inspiration is my favorite poet – an Anarchist from Italy by the name of Renzo Novatore. His poetry has delivered me from the most trying of times. Renzo’s poetry has been so influential that I have taken his name as my own – Tux Novatore Pacific. The words of Bell Hooks (RIP) have also been quite impactful.
XYZ: We learned from the Techcrunch article that you previously worked at cryptography network NuCypher, where you acquired advanced cryptographic techniques. You then applied these techniques to your innovative crypto custodian. Can you tell us how you first became interested in crypto?
Tux: I started off in the hacker space. You know the folks at DEFCON, HOPE, etc. Naturally, I became interested in privacy very young. I got intrigued by encryption and cryptography. Shortly after being hired for my first software engineering gig, I met a sysadmin who happened to have a degree in mathematics. He showed off some cryptography-related math (actually Shannon’s Entropy equation, which I now have tattooed on my wrist) and it was all downhill from there. The obsession began.
XYZ: For some reason, the word “Entropy” is giving us Bill Nye vibes. We know that “Entropy” means a lack of order or predictability – How did you land on that name?
Tux: In cryptography, we require that keys be random (or unpredictable), which we would say “a key is of high entropy” should that be the case. In fact, we can measure the amount of randomness via Shannon’s Entropy equation. I settled on the name Entropy because of the relation of Shannon’s Entropy to threshold cryptography and distributed key generation, and also due to my history with it as my sort of rabbit hole moment with cryptography.
XYZ: $25M in funding is quite a feat. Was there anything that you did or were exposed to that you felt prepared you to push through the hurdles to get this funding?
Tux: My preseed raise haha. Fundraising is hard, but only in an annoying way. If you have a solid idea, with a solid team, and a solid vision, then the convincing part isn’t difficult – it’s the social, emotional, and logistical parts that are difficult. Having gone through the preseed, I knew what to expect and how to execute better. It definitely prepared me for it. Additionally having a mentor to help guide you through things makes things so much better.
My advice to any other would-be founders is to find a fundraising buddy – someone who is raising money at the same time as you, perhaps in a similar field or even tech. Your fundraising buddy should be willing to help you with some hurdles, and you should be willing to help them with some hurdles. It’s all about cooperation.
XYZ: What factors, if any, contributed to your decision to build on .xyz?
Tux: For whatever reason, crypto has decided that .xyz domains are ours. For us, the .com wasn’t even interesting. I immediately purchased Entropy.xyz the moment I decided on the name.
Many thanks to Tux for speaking with us, and allowing us this opportunity to learn of their experiences. You can learn more about Tux’s crypto custodian startup by joining the Discord, following the company on Twitter, or by visiting Entropy.xyz.
For additional assistance and support for LGBTQ+ in tech, please consider the following resources:
TransTech
Lesbians Who Tech & Allies
LGBTQ in Technology
QueerTech
Out in Tech
LGBT Tech
oStem
StartOut
1https://www.yahoo.com/video/moonbirds-shatter-opensea-records-240m-170054768.html
2https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/08/the-trans-queer-anarchist-crypto-founder-seed-round-a16z-andreessen-horowitz/
The diverse .xyz community consists of innovators, dreamers, and makers from different backgrounds, lifestyles, social experiences, races, and religions. In this week’s #WebsiteWednesday, we’ll proudly introduce you to some inspiring websites in the .xyz community that explore and celebrate Black culture.
Grelysian.xyz – Squarespace customer – (United States)
Grelysian.xyz is the online home of Gossamer Rozen (a.k.a grelysian), a self-identified transgender, nonbinary, femme, Filipino, and Black fine artist and tattooer. The New York-based artist has been making art primarily to understand their identity and to examine and connect with the world around them. Popular NFT-focused podcast Proof.xyz featured Gossamer on the June 2, 2022 episode. In the episode, host and venture capitalist Kevin Rose joins Gossamer for the live minting of Tigerbob, their collection of 1,000 NFTs made from handmade tiger designs.
Gossamer has created culturally-focused NFT projects such as Mrammou, a collection of hand-drawn NFTs in the form of animals, objects, and humans. According to the website’s description, these small drawings, made entirely by hand, are created with colored pencil and ink on paper. They are interpretations of Akan gold weights, which were cast in brass and used as a measuring system for gold dust, the currency used by the Akan people of West Africa for 500 years. Gossamer shares that they were inspired by this tradition, and have been exploring their African heritage and learning about the culture of their ancestors. You can learn more about Gossamer by following them on Twitter and Instagram, listening to their Proof.xyz interview, and by visiting Grelysian.xyz.
TheCulture.xyz – GoDaddy customer – (United States)
TheCulture.xyz is the online home of digital lifestyle platform The Culture. The platform is the product of Miami-based media agency Hip Rock Star Advertising, which is aimed at producing forward-thinking content to reach the BIPOC community. Readers can be informed by articles on everything from national and local Miami news, music, fashion, events, and lifestyle.
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The Culture shares important national news, such as President Biden’s appointment of Karine Jean-Pierre as press secretary, making her the first Black woman to serve in the role, and local Miami news, such as the announcement of The Juneteenth Experience, a multidisciplinary, immersive performance scheduled to take place at the historic North Beach Bandshell. The informative and entertaining platform also promotes its live-streaming program My Two Cents, which presents news, entertainment “and everything in between for the culture.” You can catch My Two Cents every Friday at 6PM on their YouTube channel. TheCulture.xyz makes it easy to stay up to date via their branded social media. They have chosen matching handles across Twitter @TheCultureXYZ, Instagram @TheCultureXYZ, and Facebook @TheCultureXYZ, which makes them easily discoverable and promotes their website URL right in the handle. You can read more about this helpful technique in our latest XYZ Quarterly. Learn more by visiting TheCulture.xyz.
TheBlackArts.xyz – Google Domains customer – (United States)
TheBlackArts.xyz is the online home of the Black Arts Project (BAP), a curated NFT project aimed at celebrating and supporting Black creativity in the web3 space. BAP is a collaboration with established and new Black artists in the design, music, and art fields designed to create exclusive and innovative NFT collections that will be used to support Black causes.
The Black Arts Project officially launched on March 1, 2022. The project’s first collaboration is with artist Aurélia Durand, illustrator of the New York Times bestselling book This Book is Anti-Racist. The collaboration features a collection of 10,000 unique generative NFT artworks that will launch TheBlackArts.xyz’s mission to create an inclusive web3 creative community harnessing the power of the Black Arts. For more information, follow the project on Twitter, Tik Tok, and Instagram, join the Discord, or visit TheBlackArts.xyz.
Websites such as Grelysian.xyz, TheCulture.xyz, and TheBlackArts.xyz demonstrate the importance of merging community and culture into tech. We are inspired to showcase these platforms that are paving the way for the next generation.
Paper.xyz – Google Domains customer – (United States)
The .xyz community is home to more and more innovative platforms aimed at making web3 a comfortable space for everyone. Community platform TheHug.xyz is aimed at developing a more equitable web3. Social networking platform Lore.xyz works to connect amateur and experienced crypto investors. NFT-focused podcast Proof.xyz provides insightful coverage on web3 developers, new NFT platforms, established creators, and emerging artists. In this week’s #WebsiteWednesday, we’ll introduce you to a San Francisco-based payments processing company aimed at helping developers, creators, and brands accept payment for NFTs using credit cards and cross-chain cryptocurrency: Paper.xyz.
Paper.xyz is the online home of Paper, a crypto-focused payments processing company working to address the challenges around the user experience for non-crypto natives in the web3 space. The innovative platform has developed a checkout flow that works with credit cards and supports users without crypto wallets to make buying, using, and holding NFTs easier for everyday customers. Shortly after launching, Paper.xyz closed a $7.3 million seed round after a $2 million angel investment, for a total investment of $9.3 million.1 The round was led by VC firms Electric Capital and Initialized Capital with participation from leading video game live streaming service Twitch and event management and ticketing website Eventbrite. Paper.xyz aims to use this new capital for hiring, expanding the wallet’s infrastructure and security and making the product usable across more blockchain networks.
The payment platform allows users to create wallets through their email addresses and purchase NFTs with credit cards across the Polygon, Ethereum, Solana, and Avalanche blockchain networks to provide non-crypto consumers a “frictionless” bridge for entry into the marketplace. In the future, Paper.xyz will roll out a software development kit (SDK) intended to support the capability of brands and developers to build a custom checkout experience. Users will be able to create a branded environment for the Paper wallet so it only displays the NFTs for that brand, as opposed to displaying all the different NFTs you own.
✨One of deadmau5’s fans just minted this @head5 via Paper. Looking good!https://t.co/WYHEc3gvnN
— Paper.xyz (@papercheckout) March 24, 2022
In the past few months, Paper.xyz has worked with various bands and artists. In April 2022, Paper.xyz helped digital media brand and YouTube collective Yes Theory on a new NFT project aimed to help fund the release of their feature film documentary Iceman. Fans of electronic music producer, DJ, and musician deadmau5 can mint NFTs from the artist’s head5 collection via Paper.xyz.
Paper.xyz was co-founded by James Sun, a former product manager for leading video game live streaming platform Twitch. As James explained to us, “We chose to build on .xyz because the domain represents a new wave of web3 companies, and a lot of the great names have not been squatted by individuals/companies who don’t intend on using it to build a great product.”
As more individuals are familiarizing themselves with the web3 landscape, forward-thinkers like James are helping make the venture less intimidating. You can learn more by following the platform on Twitter and by visiting Paper.xyz.
1https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/10/polygon-among-9-3m-investment-in-paper-to-help-onboard-nft-buyers-via-email/
Discover a curated selection of available .xyz domains with our .xyz premiums, .xyz numbers, and CNOX search tools.
* Premium XYZ Registry domains refer to premium domains for extensions with standard and premium domains, and XYZ’s premium namespaces such as .Cars, .Car, .Auto, .Theatre, .Storage, .Security, .Protection, and .Hosting.***
** High/Low priced premium domain. Domains in this tier have a premium price for the first year, but renew at standard pricing. All other premium domains have annual premium renewal fees.
*** We fixed an error in the first disclaimer (*) – .Game and .Tickets are not reported as premium namespaces, as they both have premium lists. The error is limited to the disclaimer and all reporting in the Domains Reports remains accurate.
(not ranked)
| 777.xyz | Pro.Makeup** |
| TM.xyz | Therapy.Hair |
| A1.xyz | SMH.LOL |
| Goo.xyz | WBD.Audio |
| Other.xyz | NFTs.Mom |
| 0c.xyz** | Top.Autos** |
| B5.xyz | ENS.Pics |
| Cards.xyz | X.Baby** |
| One.Homes | Games.Quest** |
| Fly.Game | Loan.Boats** |
| Drive.xyz | FTX.Game | YB.Makeup |
| Freddie.xyz | Ace.Game | Mi.Autos |
| Housing.xyz | Hot.Game | Bit.Flowers |
| Milky.xyz** | Eva.LOL | ThankYou.Mom |
| CFG.xyz** | BTW.LOL | Terra.Mom |
| Bot.Christmas | STFU.LOL | TLDR.Mom |
| Cleveland.Homes** | Working.LOL | Free.Pics |
| Seven.Homes** | Perfect.Mom | Trade.Pics |
| Select.Homes** | More.Autos** | Perfect.Pics |
| Hotel.Homes** | Smart.Baby** | Truck.Rent |
(source: Namebio.com)
| Total dollar value: $475,701.00 |
| Average price: $3,576.70 |
| Low Price: $100.00 |
| High Price: $103,910.00 |
| Maximum SLD characters: 18 |
| 2C – 1 (0.75%) 3L – 4 (3.01%) 4L – 10 (7.52 %) |
(Ranked by volume)
(Price listed is MSRP)
(source: Namebio.com)
We’re extremely proud to be celebrating the 8th anniversary of .xyz’s launch and the amazing .xyz community that has developed over the years. With over 4 million registrations, .xyz surpassed .info in 2022, becoming the #4 generic domain ending. To put this meteoric rise into perspective: at 8 years old, .xyz is only trailing 3 generic domains from the 1980s.
.XYZ community members are pioneering innovative technologies, creating influential works of art and entertainment, and developing projects designed to make a positive impact on the world. .XYZ remains a top choice for those that value freedom and versatility online – especially true for the rapidly growing blockchain community. This year TechCrunch took notice of .xyz and published an article on the web3 popularity of .xyz titled “WTF is .xyz?”
We asked a few of our blockchain end-users to share their thoughts on xyz:
We’re equally supportive of the blockchain community, and thoroughly enjoy seeing all of the innovative ideas being launched on .xyz. Along with web3, there are exciting accomplishments happening on .xyz in diverse markets all around the world. Highlighted here are a few websites that stood out to us this year:
We greatly appreciate the support of our partners who have helped us achieve a truly global reach, empowering everyone around the world to find their own .xyz. Thanks to our global network and their customers, worldwide adoption has made .xyz a top choice for over 4 million domains and counting. Partners like GoDaddy, Namecheap, Onamae, Alibaba, and many more have all helped deliver the message that .xyz truly is “for every website, everywhere®.”
The .xyz blockchain community has grown exponentially since XYZ first worked with the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) to enable ETH wallet pairing with .xyz domains. The growth was noticed by TechCrunch writer Anita Ramaswamy, who published an article titled “WTF is .xyz?” To keep supporting the innovative blockchain community, this year we developed another web3 project called eth.xyz, a service aimed to help ENS users share what they want with the world. With eth.xyz, we enabled all .eth name holders to display their ENS profiles in all web browsers with .xyz. The ENS profiles serve as a hub for all the important public information connected to an .eth name, such as NFTs and wallet addresses. To use it, just add “.xyz” to the end of any .eth name in any web browser and the corresponding ENS profile will display (i.e. Maaria.eth = Maaria.eth.xyz).
We are constantly in awe of the many forward-thinking web3 developers launching their projects on .xyz domains and can’t wait to see the new ideas that come to life in the year ahead.
In March 2022, we introduced 10 more domain endings in the XYZ family: .Game, .Guitars, .Audio, .Christmas, .Diet, .Flowers, .Hosting, .Pics, .Mom, and .LOL These new additions bring our Registry’s total offerings to 33! 8 years in, and our commitment to versatility remains strong. You can use this diverse range of domains to establish your brand online and signify your devotion to your community.
Brands, individuals, and organizations all over the world are already using .Game, .Guitars, .Audio, .Christmas, .Diet, .Flowers, .Hosting, .Pics, .Mom, and .LOL to build their websites and establish their brands online:
This year we introduced the XYZ Registry Domains Report. This monthly report shares exciting highlights in domain sales from the previous month, including which XYZ domains took the lead and the highest aftermarket sales of the month. You can use the Domains Reports to learn about aftermarket sales, try our tools for browsing featured available domains, and see inspiring businesses and innovative new ideas launching on XYZ premium domains. You can keep up with emerging trends – including the blockchain industry’s particular interest in .xyz – by subscribing to the .xyz newsletter.
The XYZ Registry continues to have a no-tolerance policy for abuse in our zones. This year we were recognized by Spamhaus with a series of collaborative blog posts regarding abuse and acceptable use best practices. Our proprietary Anti-Abuse Technology continues to keep the XYZ namespace safe and, according to Spamhaus, .xyz generally has a lower badness index score than most legacy TLDs. XYZ has also joined the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and continues to actively seek out opportunities to collaborate on cybersecurity.
This year, XYZ proudly supported 121 hackathons across the globe, and supplied determined coders with a platform to launch their inventive ideas online. By developing partnerships with organizations like Indonesia-based Generation Girl, which works to inspire young women to become leaders in the historically male-dominated STEM fields, XYZ continues to empower generations of internet users to turn their dreams into reality.
We’d like to thank our worldwide community for helping us reach the 8-year mark. We couldn’t have done it without you, and we look forward to sharing many more achievements together.
