Own Your Own Web3 TLD: How Freename Royalties Work
Most of the Web3 domain conversation is about registering a single name — yourname.eth, yourbrand.crypto, and so on. Freename offers a fundamentally different product: instead of registering a name under someone else's extension, you can mint and own an entire custom top-level domain, like .yourbrand, and then sell individual names underneath it to other people, earning a share of each sale. It's less "get a domain" and more "become a mini-registrar." Here's how the model works and what to weigh before treating it as a business.
The basic concept: owning a TLD instead of a name
In traditional DNS, top-level domains like .com or .io are controlled by a small number of registry operators, and individual registrars sell names underneath them to the public — a tightly gatekept system. Freename's pitch flips that: anyone can mint their own custom TLD as an NFT, becoming, in effect, the registry operator for that extension. Once you own a TLD, you can list it for others to register domain names under, similar to how a normal registrar sells .com names, except you're the one setting availability and (within Freename's platform rules) participating in the pricing.
How the advertised royalty model works
Freename has advertised a revenue-sharing structure — commonly cited in its own marketing at roughly a 50% split — where the TLD owner receives a share of the price whenever someone registers a domain name under their custom extension. In plain terms: if someone registers alice.yourbrand, you as the .yourbrand TLD owner would receive a cut of that registration price, with Freename keeping the rest as the platform operator.
We're hedging the exact percentage deliberately — royalty structures, fee splits, and platform terms are the kind of detail that changes over time and varies by program, so treat any specific number (including the one commonly cited) as something to verify directly on Freename's current documentation before making a purchase decision, not as a fixed, permanent fact.
This is a business model, not passive income
It's worth being blunt here: owning a TLD does not generate royalties by itself. Royalties only materialize when other people actually register names under your extension, and that demand doesn't appear automatically just because you own the TLD. In practice, generating registrations under a custom TLD typically requires:
- Marketing and outreach — making people aware your TLD exists and giving them a reason to register under it rather than a more established extension.
- A compelling niche or brand — TLDs tied to a recognizable community, brand, or use case have a much better shot at attracted registrants than a generic word nobody has context for.
- Ongoing effort, not a one-time purchase and walk away — this is closer to running a small domain-reseller business than buying a lottery ticket.
If you're weighing this against simpler Web3 domain options, our ENS vs Unstoppable Domains vs Freename comparison covers the single-name alternatives, which require far less ongoing effort than TLD ownership.
The real risks
- Demand uncertainty. There's no guarantee anyone will ever register a name under your TLD. You could own it for years with zero registrants and zero royalty income.
- Support and utility limits. A brand-new custom TLD has essentially no wallet, exchange, or app support out of the gate — any recognition it gets has to be built, which ties back into the effort point above.
- Platform dependency. Your ability to actually collect royalties depends on Freename's platform continuing to operate on the terms advertised at the time you bought in. Any Web3 platform carries this kind of counterparty and continuity risk.
- Upfront cost with no guaranteed return. TLD ownership costs meaningfully more than registering a single name (reflecting the broader rights involved), and that cost is not refundable if demand never shows up. See our cost breakdown for how to think about registration, renewal, and gas costs generally.
Who might genuinely consider this
A custom Web3 TLD could make sense for someone with an existing audience or brand where a matching extension has obvious appeal — a community, project, or influencer with a built-in reason for people to want a name under their TLD — and who is willing to put in ongoing marketing effort, the same way anyone running a small reseller business would. It's a much weaker fit for someone hoping to buy a generic TLD and collect passive royalties with no further effort; that outcome isn't how the model has been described to work, and we're not aware of any guarantee that it would play out that way regardless.
We don't give investment advice, and nothing here should be read as a recommendation to buy a TLD expecting a specific return. If you're evaluating this as a business decision, model it the way you'd model any small reseller venture: realistic demand assumptions, a real marketing plan, and money you're comfortable not getting back if demand never materializes.
If you already have an audience and want a real website too
If you do decide to pursue a custom TLD as part of a broader brand or community strategy, remember that the TLD itself still isn't a website — the same limitation covered in our Web3 domain overview applies here too. You'll still want a standard, universally reachable website to actually market the TLD and onboard registrants, which is exactly the kind of build we do — see our pricing or start a project brief if you want help with that piece.
FAQ
What does it mean to own a TLD on Freename?
It means minting and controlling a custom top-level domain extension, like .yourbrand, rather than registering a single name under an existing extension. As the TLD owner, you can then sell individual domain names under that extension to other people.
How do Freename royalties work?
Freename has advertised a revenue-sharing model where TLD owners receive a share — reported at around 50% in Freename's own marketing — of the sale price whenever someone registers a domain name under their custom TLD. Exact terms and percentages should be confirmed directly on Freename's current documentation, since royalty structures can change.
Is owning a Web3 TLD passive income?
Not guaranteed passive income — it's closer to a domain-reseller business model. Royalties only materialize if other people actually register names under your TLD, which depends on demand you don't control and typically requires marketing effort on your part to attract registrants.
What are the risks of buying a custom TLD as a business?
The main risks are demand uncertainty (nobody may register under your TLD at all), limited wallet and application support for a brand-new custom extension, dependency on Freename's platform and business continuing to operate as advertised, and the upfront cost of acquiring the TLD with no guaranteed return.
Who should consider buying a Freename TLD?
People comfortable treating it as a speculative micro-business venture — with marketing effort, realistic expectations about demand, and money they can afford to lose — rather than as a guaranteed income stream.
Disclosure: Some links in this article may be affiliate links — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. See our full affiliate disclosure.