First of all, the terms have changed and continue to change...
6 months ago or so, when I realized Coinbase had released multi-currency internal transfers through usernames on their Coinbase Wallet, of course, I had to try out the feature.
It works! And I thought, here we have the most popular Cryptocurrency 3rd party in America doing away with what is probably the most intimidating thing about crypto...this could be a hit, I thought.
So I figured it would be a good idea to claim a few usernames for myself, maybe claim a few for friends, before everyone else jumps on the train and the unique wallet addresses are taken.
When I realized usernames like @medicina, @psicologia, @clinica (medicine, psychology, clinic) were available, seeing how most of my family members work in those fields and I kinda do as well, I decided to snatch them.
Everything seemed okay, I was given 12 words to write down per wallet, what I thought was a seed phrase, to save...everything seemed like the standard for self-custody.
But then I started running into some real gems like @voter... I was shocked that this username was available. A premium wallet if there ever was one... at that point I started playing with the idea of selling some of these.
But who would buy a Blockchain Domain? And I thought...a domain broker would probably want their own domain, if anything to show that they care for their brand. That is when I discovered that @namecheap was available... and I took it, along with @namechaep, to try to sell as a bundle in case someone would deposit to the wrong username over a typo. Figured I'd also give myself the chance the create bigger combos or appeal to competitors by claiming wallets like @buydomain, @buydomains, @cheapdomain, etc.
Realizing new owners would want exclusive knowledge of the keys, I started looking on the Coinbase Wallet app for a way to change the password/key. But when I couldn't find it I reached out to Coinbase directly.
Coinbase support said that they had no way of changing the password to those wallets, and though I thought this would make the selling of these assets more difficult, I also figured it was a good sign of security.
See... if the password cannot be changed then the buyer needs to trust that I have 1) Stored the key securely offline, and 2) That I will only sell password to them, that I will not keep this information and only they will be have access upon purchase.
Sure, this would make things a little more difficult, I'd need to convince people/organizations that I am honest, but then again when you own usernames like @dispensary and @diagnosis it means you have a certain tolerance for risk.
I really tried going for wallets that didn't weren't necessarily related to existing brands, generic words that I thought would be easy to unload based on personal predictions such as @reproduction, @invitro, @fertility, @embarazo.
It wasn't all medical either, I got combos such as @buyhome, @sellhome, and when I came across wallets such as @madeinjapan, @madeinmexico, @madeinfrance, @madeinvietnam I was beyond thrilled.
Things became dark, however, when I managed to get @refinery and @petroleo. And I became downright scared when I claimed @diezmo (tithe) and @ofrenda. I even managed to get both users @buddhism and @budismo, so I basically claimed a whole religion.
I did become scare, very, which is why I decided to keep quiet and store the keys behind physical locks.
"There is no way Coinbase will let me keep these" is what I thought when I took the name @vaccines in several languages, there is just no way they'd let just anyone own these.
Still, I was making an effort to retrieve these, I had covered all cameras on all my devices, written down each 12-word phrase manually, confirmed/reorganized them, I was wasting time checking for availability manually and using my creativity (and time) to think of the very best.
Sure, maybe they would have a case to censor usernames like @polycub, @gosun, @dreamhost or @sotheby. Pretty sure @kellerwilliams would try to put up a fight which is why I claimed other users like @attorneys. But who does @warranty belong to? There is no way I'd give up @envio or @remesa (remittance), there is no way I'd let all those hours and precautions go to waste.
So instead of stopping at a couple of hundred names I doubled down...and even employed a buddy to help retrieve names like @btctoeth and @ethtobtc, @buyeuros and so on.
Anything and everything I thought had commercial potential, including the word commerce in spanish. No one, not even the @scientologist were safe.
But then, a few months down the road Coinbase changed their terms and conditions all of the sudden and right away I knew what the deal was.
Of course, I'm protecting my investment so I read the fine print. But it didn't take long to see what the whole thing was about. There it was, they didn't even try to hide it, Coinbase Wallet was now saying that the sale/purchase AND rent of these usernames is forbidden.
So who owns the usernames? And how are they going to keep people from doing what they want with their property?
I kept on reading and their new FAQ section revealed the rest, something about being able to claim an old username, lol. So I went to LinkedIn and confronted them about it.
The interaction is below.
Me: Can anyone from Coinbase explain this further? After a CERTAIN period of time? What does that even mean in #Blockchain circles? Where is the certainty that I can count on my #Money? Where is the permanency? Where is the integrity of the information we share with you? Can we count on Coinbase or #Crypto at all these days? I don't mean to be hostile but I see no point whatsoever in creating a username with Coinbase, writing it down thinking I'm securing something, and them being able to just take it from me after an UNCERTAIN period of what seems like arbitrary time.
What exactly needs to happen before the uncertain period is up? How much financial or social activity is acceptable to #Coinbase?
Until further notice I am left to assume that anyone's Coinbase wallet can just poof and gone, how can I even do business with someone using the Coinbase Wallet App or anything Coinbase because I'm not sure whether they'll get the funds I send or believe me when I say I didn't stiff them. How can I take that kind of risk?
Coinbase: Hi Tommy, we would be happy to discuss any of your concerns with ENS names for Coinbase Wallet.
To address your first concern, we would not randomly take away a person's ENS name. The portion of the ENS help page you are referring to is in the event that someone relinquishes their ENS name in favor of a different one. We would be happy to provide you more specific information if you wish.
I apologize if you are just speculating and not looking for a response, but we genuinely are excited for customers to start engaging more deeply with the ENS concept, as it is a new and exciting part of the crypto space. For that reason we will always try to answer any questions or concerns that are expressed about this new product.
Should you want your specific concerns addressed privately, please feel free to create an email support ticket so that the Wallet team can address you directly: https://help.coinbase.com/en/contact-us/
Let us know how we can help you! Thanks.
Me: Let's clarify publicly and for the record, as transparent as blockchain is supposed to be, Coinbase will not be taking usernames away unless the user says it's okay?...Why would anyone ever do that? Can you think of one (1) reason?
If I get married and wish to take my spouse's last name, should I relinquish my first username for a new one? What if I get divorced or just miss my old username and someone else took it? What about the people that only know me by the old name? I guess my granny with bad memory will send my Christmas gift to the wrong dude. I can't have several usernames? Then you're not letting us conduct our business, we're only getting the option to go elsewhere and hope they don't also change the terms and conditions. Is any term on Coinbase solid? Is Coinbase responsible for anything at all?
If Coinbase is not responsible then let us be responsible. Why, again, would anyone relinquish a username when money could be coming through?
If all this is for your convinience then say so and specify how many usernames a single individual or organization can have. Let people have a choice not to have to wait over a month to get the wrong response from your customer service department.
It was at that point that Coinbase dissapeared!
So basically, they are admitting to being able to change the usernames...they just won't do it for us customers.
Still, I am going to go ahead and sell some usernames, I will keep others, others will be donated and some might even be rented because I feel like I can do what I want with my property within the parameters of a private agreement.
I did go back to Coinbase and shared a few more thoughts with them...
"Gift a username? Transfer a username? Donate a username? But relinquish? Why relinquish?"
I never did get an answer as to why, after having made the effort to take a username from Coinbase we'd just give it back in exchange for nothing at all.
If they want to limit the amount of usernames/wallets a single person or organization can have then just be straight and tell us, be transparent.
So yeah, that's were we are at. Here soon I will be publishing some of these usernames for sale on several platforms. Some will go on escrow, some will be sold as NFTs, I might even resort to using more traditional domain brokerage services.
If Coinbase wants to keep their credibility they are going to have to ignore these activities or change their terms...if you change the terms once then you can absolutely change them back or change them to something else.
In the meantime, if you see a Coinbase Wallet Domain for sale that is probably me and my dude.
You may see it as breaking the rules, I just see it as freedom...
Why would you ever build a business around a Coinbase Wallet Username Domain if Coinbase admits that the wallet is not yours?
Some crypto guys and companies started out with the best of intentions, but power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Many people who are into blockchain believe if they keep their heads down, if they ignore the way cryptocurrencies are being taken over by corporations, they might be allowed to keep some of the wealth they have accumulated. I'm not willing to take that chance...
I got into crypto because for once regular people had a shot at owning something...you might have forgotten you are not part of their club, you might think you're safe now, that is until the terms are changed on you.