Dmail secures funding again, but does Mail to Earn really work?
Dmail, representing Mail to Earn, still has two issues to address: on one hand, how many users care whether the emails they send truly achieve "decentralized storage"? On the other hand, how many users will use email to manage and send their on-chain assets?Author: Mia, Nianqing, ChainCatcher
On July 24, the multi-chain Web3 infrastructure Dmail Network announced the completion of its Pre-A round of financing, with participation from Amino Capital, OIG VC, Draper Dragon, KuCoin Labs, and others. According to Rootdata, Dmail raised seed and strategic round financing in December 2021 and February 2022, respectively, with notable supporters including Hashkey Capital and KuCoin Labs.
In addition, the recent launch of the Web3 tool Arkham's native token $ARKM on Binance Launchpad, along with an airdrop to early point users, has once again drawn attention to Dmail, which also uses invitations to attract new users and has long included token issuance in its roadmap, rekindling user enthusiasm for "Mail to Earn."
Currently, Dmail has over 550,000 active users on its platform. According to Dune data, the daily transaction volume on the BNB Chain recently surpassed 10,000, indicating a significant increase in interaction activity.
So, what exactly is Dmail? How is it developing? What are the rules of the points system? This article will help you quickly understand.
1. What is Dmail?
Dmail was launched in 2021, initially as a native project on the highly sought-after public chain DFINITY at the time. However, as the narrative around DFINITY waned, Dmail embarked on a multi-chain development path and has become adept at chasing industry hotspots in Crypto. Since 2021, the project team has emphasized that Dmail is an "NFT-based email," and earlier this year, taking advantage of the hot AI narrative, Dmail announced integration with ChatGPT, launching the "AI Email Assistant" feature to help users compose email content with simple commands, thus repositioning Dmail as "Your AI Assistant." When Conflux and Worldcoin were gaining popularity, Dmail quickly announced integration with them as well…
Similar to traditional email systems that use a unique email address to identify users, Dmail uses the user's on-chain address as their email address. Additionally, Dmail is an NFT-based email system, where each email name represents an NFT. To protect user privacy and security when using on-chain addresses, Dmail has introduced an alias system to manage user addresses, allowing users to set aliases that replace their on-chain addresses with email accounts, thereby safeguarding the privacy of their on-chain addresses.
Specifically, Dmail will implement functions such as message communication, asset management, data storage, subscriptions and notifications, Web3 marketing, and AI assistants.
1. Message Communication
According to official sources, Dmail focuses on integrating existing email technology with distributed technology, rooted in the technical principles of traditional email while incorporating decentralized technology, allowing users to send and receive messages while utilizing various additional features.
Dmail's messages consist of a subject and body, with the subject stored "on-chain" in the form of a hash value. The email body is encrypted using keys and stored in multiple decentralized storage systems to achieve rapid scalability and secure storage.
In terms of usage, Dmail's interface and operations are similar to traditional email systems. Upon entering the page, the main interface is the inbox, with the left sidebar divided into two parts: the upper part for common email communication functions and the lower part for Web3 functions such as NFT markets, asset management, and domain purchases.
As the official introduction states, using Dmail allows users to send messages using traditional email technology to Web2 email addresses, as well as using distributed technology to send messages to on-chain addresses. The email system will automatically categorize and label emails sent from different systems, such as DID (binding ENS and other domain names or purchasing Dmail domain names), Web2 (regular email addresses like Gmail, NetEase, etc.), and Web3 (users defaulting to using Web3 wallet addresses) (as shown in the image below). According to ChainCatcher's tests, currently, sending emails from Dmail to Web2 email addresses like Gmail has a delay of nearly 10 minutes, while emails to DID and Web3 type addresses are sent and received in real-time.
2. Data Storage
Traditional emails are ultimately stored on the servers of domain companies, which exposes personal emails to the risk of leakage or loss. In contrast, Dmail utilizes decentralized storage for its storage and security, ensuring that emails are always stored on the network, accessible at any time, while minimizing the risk of email content leakage.
3. Asset Management (Not Yet Launched)
According to official sources, Dmail is also transforming its positioning from a single information exchange platform to a comprehensive investment platform. In the future, the official plan is to integrate wallet functions into the email system based on a wealth of project information, allowing users to send, receive, or transfer crypto assets within their wallets through email, thus completing on-chain crypto transactions. Additionally, users will be able to participate in airdrops or make initial purchases of items via email.
4. Subscriptions and Notifications (Not Yet Launched)
Moreover, similar to traditional Web2 emails, Dmail has also launched similar subscription and notification features. Its push system will integrate project information from the market for investors to access easily. Users can subscribe to project-related information within the system to receive asset and airdrop notifications. However, the current version does not display any modules indicating that such features will be launched soon.
2. Dmail's Ecological Landscape
Data shows that since launching the Beta network on June 1, 2022, Dmail has registered nearly 550,000 domain accounts and over 300,000 personal addresses in just over a year. The platform has processed a total of 8.5 million messages and established partnerships with over 100 projects, including Worldcoin, ENS, SpaceID, Lens, zkSync Era, and BNB Chain.
1. Multi-Chain Wallet Account System
This month, Dmail achieved a significant upgrade to its email account system, launching a wallet address-based account system that simplifies the email registration process. Users can directly create a free email account using their wallet address, generating an email address in the format 0x000@dmail.ai (wallet address + suffix). This email address can be used to communicate with other Web2 and Web3 email systems.
As of now, Dmail is compatible with various networks, including EVM networks like Ethereum, zkSync Era, BNB Chain, Polygon, Conflux, KCC, and LoTex, as well as non-EVM networks like Manta Network, StarkNet, Solana, Sei Network, and Dfinity.
2. DID Domain Name System
Earlier this year, Dmail launched its DaaS service. Users with any DID account can mint a Dmail NFT domain name account for free upon logging into Dmail. After logging in, users can view all DID names on the settings page and set any DID name to send and receive emails.
Currently, Dmail supports domain logins from ENS, SpaceID, JazDID, HashkeyID, Unstoppable, and .Bit, with plans to add more domain projects in the future.
After logging in with a wallet, users can browse all the domain NFTs they hold in the NFT Market interface and choose one to bind to their email system. Once successfully bound, they can use the custom domain address to send and receive emails. Users who already hold domain addresses only need to pay gas fees to bind 8-11 character domain names.
Users who have not purchased domain NFTs on the above networks can also buy domains through Dmail's internal presale system to bind to their existing email systems.
3. Integration with ChatGPT, Launching AI Email Assistant
The Dmail AI Email Assistant integrates ChatGPT functionality, intelligently analyzing email scenarios through AI, automatically matching email types based on user descriptions, and enabling smart email sending and receiving. Users can also use custom text requests (limited to 200 characters) to have AI assist in editing email content and layout. Additionally, when replying to emails, AI generates intelligent responses based on the original text (limited to 800 characters), making it easier for users to adjust flexibly.
4. Deep Cooperation between Dmail and Worldcoin
In May of this year, Dmail announced a deep cooperation with Worldcoin, becoming the first infrastructure protocol and application in the Web3 field to collaborate closely with Worldcoin. Dmail will provide encrypted email, communication, AI marketing, and other services for Worldcoin's global users centered around WorldID. It is reported that the two parties will also collaborate to launch a dedicated DID identity system, forming a unique binding relationship between individuals, WorldID, and Dmail accounts, jointly creating a global digital citizen infrastructure.
Currently, Worldcoin users can directly access Dmail and mint 8-11 character NFT domain emails for free. Dmail has also set up a points reward program, where users can earn points by registering for the World APP through Dmail and verifying via email.
3. Dmail Points System
In October of last year, Dmail officially launched its points feature, marking the beginning of the Mail to Earn journey.
Currently, the methods for earning Dmail points are as follows:
Purchase paid email domain names to earn corresponding points (4-character payment of 199U automatically earns 10,000 points; 5-character payment of 79U automatically earns 5,000 points; 6-character payment of 29U automatically earns 2,000 points; 7-character payment of 9U automatically earns 800 points; 8-11 character payment of 5.49U earns 500 points);
Send emails daily to Web2 users to earn corresponding points;
Send emails daily to Web3 users to earn corresponding points;
Invite new users to generate project points…
Specific rules are as follows:
However, it is worth noting that currently, if users log into Dmail using non-EVM networks like StarkNet or Sei, they must use their ecosystem-compatible wallets, meaning that their email accounts are not the same as those on EVM networks, and points cannot be accumulated here (this may also be a problem that needs to be solved in the development of DID).
Additionally, Dmail will categorize different permissions based on domain name levels:
For example, if I pay 5.49U to purchase an 8-11 character domain NFT, I will receive 500 points and automatically obtain Basic level, allowing me to send a maximum of 40 emails per day, with a maximum storage capacity of 200M. The points earned will also be default points, but if I upgrade to Premium level, in addition to increased email capacity, I can earn 1.1 times the points when earning points, while non-paying users (only wallet login) can only earn 0.5 times the points.
Dmail's points system also has a practical feature where, after reaching a certain withdrawal limit, points can be bound to NFTs, allowing users to upgrade their email usage permissions accordingly.
Conclusion
Currently, besides Dmail, there are other projects like Skiff, Mail3.me, and MetaMail, which mainly focus on traditional email functions of "information communication and notification." Apart from emphasizing privacy features and supporting encryption for emails and inboxes, they have not delved into further Web3 application expansion and development. It must be said that Dmail is smarter in terms of product marketing and market perspective.
In the future, as Dmail's asset management function is launched, its Web3 attributes will further advance. However, aside from the expectations of airdrops and short-term incentives, has Dmail truly captured the pain points of users at this stage? It is worth considering: on one hand, how many users will care whether their sent emails truly achieve "decentralized storage"? On the other hand, how many users will use email to manage and send their on-chain assets?
