DONUTS CLOSES STRATEGIC INVESTMENT IN NETKI BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY

Largest operator of new domain extensions aims to expand domain names market through investment in Netki, Inc.

BELLEVUE, Wash. — Donuts Inc., the world’s largest operator of new domain name extensions, announced today an investment in Netki, Inc., a digital identity startup dedicated to democratizing digital currency. Netki uses the domain name system (DNS) to humanize typically complex numbering mechanisms needed to exchange digital currency.

Donuts is one of the most profitable and fastest-growing companies in the domain name industry. Partnering with Netki further advances Donuts’ strategy to invest in emerging technologies that have the potential to dramatically expand the addressable market for domain names. This comes on the heels of Donuts’ strategic investment last month inGeoFrenzy, Inc., a company that has developed a complete infrastructure for defining and managing smart geofences. Both investments originated from Donuts Labs, an effort to leverage Donuts’ capital and registry expertise to invest in emerging technologies that promote new uses for domain names, utilize the DNS, and otherwise complement Donuts’ interests.

Blockchain Technology and the DNS

As a distributed database, the blockchain maintains a continuously growing list of data records. Blockchain-based applications, such as bitcoin wallets, utilize complicated, 32-character alphanumeric wallet addresses; Netki’s Wallet Name Service makes blockchain applications user-friendlier by generating easy to remember “wallet names.” Netki leverages “secure DNS” (known formally as domain name system security extensions, or DNSSEC) to map wallet names to blockchain-based public addresses. End-users can then safely share their wallet names in a way that improves security and privacy when compared to current practices.

“Netki is addressing an unmet market need in the rapidly growing blockchain space,” said Donuts co-founder and CEO Paul Stahura. “Their use of the DNS to simplify the sharing of wallet addresses by creating wallet names is novel and is an idea that will make this technology more secure, adaptable, and user-friendly.”

Netki’s Digital Identity Certificate was also a key attractor for Donuts. The product further removes barriers to blockchain adoption. It gives developers and organizations a method to privately exchange, sign and authenticate sensitive documents and identity information with legally validated digital identity certificates. This removes one of the last remaining barriers to adoption of blockchain technology for financial institutions and other regulated entities who need to meet “Know Your Customer” and other statutory requirements. Beyond banking, this solution can be extended to allow for the private exchange and authentication of any type of required information between individuals or institutions on and between distributed ledger systems.

“Donuts’ leadership position in the domain space makes the company a great investor and partner for us,” said Netki founder and CEO Justin Newton. “The company’s expertise in innovative DNS services blends perfectly with our mission of building naming and identity services for next-generation blockchain users.”

Stahura reaffirmed that Donuts Labs continues to seek attractive opportunities with products or services related to the DNS. “Donuts has a unique opportunity to put its expertise to work in companies that are adjacent to the DNS or otherwise employ a highly scalable registry model,” he said. “I expect further investment or acquisition activity this year.”

Terms of the deal with Netki have not been disclosed.

About Donuts

Donuts securely operates the largest number of the internet’s top-level domain names and provides varied and relevant online identities, in multiple languages and character sets, to businesses, individuals, and organizations worldwide.  Donuts is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, with offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and London.  For more information, please visit www.donuts.domains.

About Netki: Founded in 2014, Netki is a Los Angeles based technology start-up whose products make blockchain-based applications connected, compliant, and easy to use. Please see www.netki.com for more details.