Mapping .eth to .com Dual Stack Strategies for Global Brands

As the Web3 naming landscape matures, global brands are beginning to explore how blockchain-native identifiers such as .eth names can coexist and integrate with their longstanding .com digital assets. This convergence is not merely a branding experiment—it represents a shift in how identity, reachability, and trust are managed in a decentralized world. The challenge lies in architecting a dual-stack strategy where both Web2 and Web3 namespaces reinforce each other rather than operating in isolation. For companies with significant brand equity, customer reach, and regulatory obligations, mapping .eth domains to .com properties requires deliberate infrastructure, security frameworks, and interface design to ensure consistency, usability, and verifiability across the traditional and decentralized internet.

At the core of a dual-stack strategy is the desire to unify user-facing identity across two fundamentally different layers: the Domain Name System (DNS), which governs .com domains via ICANN-accredited registrars and centralized root servers, and the Ethereum Name Service (ENS), which resolves .eth names on a decentralized blockchain through smart contracts. While .com domains serve as the default access point for global audiences, .eth names are increasingly used in decentralized apps (dApps), crypto wallets, social protocols, and peer-to-peer interactions. Each serves a different function—.com for discoverability and mainstream access, .eth for cryptographic identity and on-chain trust. The goal is to bridge these two identities in a way that enhances both.

A foundational step in this strategy is ENS-DNS integration. ENS offers a feature that allows DNS domain owners to claim their .com or other DNS names directly on Ethereum by proving control of the DNS zone. Through a process using DNSSEC (Domain Name System Security Extensions), a brand can demonstrate cryptographic ownership of example.com and link it to an ENS name like example.eth or even register example.com as an ENS name. This ENS record can then include resolver data such as Ethereum addresses, content hashes for decentralized websites, and text metadata. As a result, users interacting through Web3 interfaces like MetaMask or Rainbow can resolve a .com-based ENS name to a wallet or dApp endpoint, while still preserving DNS access via standard browsers.

Beyond technical resolution, dual-stack strategies must address UX coherence. A user visiting brandname.com should ideally receive cues or interfaces indicating that brandname.eth exists and is verifiably owned by the same entity. This could be implemented via UI banners, digital signature widgets, or browser extensions that verify ENS-DNS linkage. Likewise, visiting brandname.eth in a Web3-enabled browser or through an IPFS gateway could redirect to content hosted under the .com infrastructure, or a decentralized mirror, depending on context. Maintaining consistent visual branding, TLS certificates (for HTTPS), and metadata like social links and contact info ensures that users can traverse both layers without ambiguity or risk of impersonation.

Security is paramount in this mapping process. Brands must ensure that control of their .eth domains is managed via secure key custody solutions. For high-value identifiers, this often involves smart contract wallets like Gnosis Safe, with multi-signature authorization and hardware key integration. Because .eth names can be used for wallet addresses, authentication, and signing operations, any compromise of the private keys could result in significant financial or reputational damage. Likewise, DNS records used for ENS linkage must be secured with DNSSEC and managed by teams with clear access protocols and audit trails. Combining traditional IT security practices with blockchain-native security primitives is essential for enterprise-grade deployments.

Another important component of a dual-stack strategy is subdomain structuring. Both .com and .eth names support hierarchical naming, allowing organizations to deploy subdomains for different departments, campaigns, or user-facing services. A coherent mapping plan might involve subdomains like support.brand.com and support.brand.eth resolving to equivalent functions across Web2 and Web3. For instance, support.brand.eth could direct users to a decentralized helpdesk or messaging service integrated into a Web3-native protocol, while support.brand.com remains tied to a traditional SaaS platform. This kind of dual-path routing preserves user expectations while offering opt-in decentralization for advanced users.

Furthermore, dual-stack strategies can extend to identity verification and authentication. By using decentralized identity protocols such as Sign-In With Ethereum (SIWE), brands can allow users to authenticate on brandname.com using their Ethereum wallet and associated ENS name. This links their decentralized identity with Web2 accounts, enabling cross-platform personalization, loyalty tracking, and secure messaging. Conversely, users who register accounts on brandname.com could be issued a subdomain under brandname.eth—such as alice.brandname.eth—giving them a Web3-native credential tethered to their traditional account. This symbiosis strengthens user engagement while respecting privacy and ownership principles.

Content hosting also presents an opportunity for alignment. With decentralized storage platforms like IPFS and Arweave, brands can deploy censorship-resistant versions of critical documents, product roadmaps, or community updates. Linking these resources from an .eth domain reinforces trust in immutability and provenance, while still providing canonical access from the .com site. For example, a legal policy hosted at brandname.eth via IPFS can be cross-referenced on brandname.com to establish that the document is not subject to retroactive alteration. This is especially relevant in highly regulated industries or jurisdictions where auditability is essential.

In terms of discoverability and SEO, Web3 domains currently lag behind their DNS counterparts. Most search engines do not index .eth domains or IPFS-hosted content comprehensively, and conventional URL structures are not yet recognized in standard browser address bars. To compensate, brands employing dual-stack strategies often rely on their .com sites as canonical sources for public traffic, while using .eth names as embedded layers for crypto-native users. However, ongoing efforts by browser vendors, search platforms, and ENS contributors aim to close this gap by integrating native .eth resolution and indexing protocols, which would eventually allow Web3 content to be discovered through traditional search engines.

Finally, dual-stack strategies provide legal and reputational benefits. By publicly establishing ownership of a .eth name that maps to a known .com domain, a brand reduces the likelihood of impersonation, phishing, or cybersquatting within the Web3 ecosystem. It also positions the brand as forward-looking and technically progressive, signaling alignment with open-source communities, digital sovereignty, and user empowerment. These qualities increasingly resonate with younger audiences and crypto-native users who value transparency and decentralization.

In conclusion, mapping .eth to .com is not simply a technical configuration—it is a strategic framework for harmonizing legacy internet infrastructure with the emerging decentralized web. For global brands, the imperative is to craft this bridge in a way that respects both systems’ affordances while delivering a seamless and secure user experience. As identity becomes multi-layered and context-dependent, and as blockchain adoption moves from speculation to utility, dual-stack strategies will define the next frontier of digital presence and trust. Brands that invest early in this synthesis will be best positioned to lead in a multi-protocol, multi-network world.

As the Web3 naming landscape matures, global brands are beginning to explore how blockchain-native identifiers such as .eth names can coexist and integrate with their longstanding .com digital assets. This convergence is not merely a branding experiment—it represents a shift in how identity, reachability, and trust are managed in a decentralized world. The challenge lies…