The Domain registry company NJAL.LA aka ‘Njalla’ has be cast into the spotlight of cryptocurrency for their finessing of Mollars.com from the “Mollars Cryptocurrency Project.” Now relocated to Mollars.CC, the project’s original domain shut down abruptly with no explanation. The strange event worried some crypto investors, but a PSA was issued to clarify the issue.
Via twitter today, an answer to all those questioning what happened was shared via X (formerly twitter).
Why Mollars.com Switched to Mollars.CC
“http://Mollars.com, the domain, was hijacked from us by a rogue domain registry service that has in their T&C they actually own our domain. We are fighting to get the domain back but until then, we’re focused on building http://Mollars.cc as our new domain brand.”
This was only a part of the full tweet but after seeing this, the obvious thing for traders to do is research who is NJALLA domain registry and are they legit. In a quick search of the company with the word scam or “Njal.la stealing domains,” the search results are shocking.
Apparently the ‘decentralized-like’ domain registry isn’t a registry at all, though they maintain the shell appearance of one. Instead, the company buys domains for clients and puts it in their own name, retaining ownership of their domains without them knowing.
Unless however a client happens to read the ‘about us’ page — which really has nothing to do with the buying process typically. On Njalla’s about us page the company explains & virtually protects themselves against lawsuits without making it clear who owns the domain:
“For instance, when you register a domain name in our system, we can register with our own data. We will be the actual registrant of the domain — it’s not an ownership by proxy as found with all other providers. However, you will still have full control over the domain name. You can either use our information (and our nameservers) or you can go with your custom data. And you can move at any time. Simple, flexible.”
The slick description of the company, which is not made clear on the sales page to customers, has put the Mollars.com domain in jeopardy. And not just Mollars, but hundreds of others are complaining about the company on SEO forums, TrustPilot, and reddit (see here) alike.
Who Owns NJAL.LA?
It’s also been discovered by some recently, the founder and owner of the company is none other than Peter Sunde. If you are unfamiliar with the name, he’s the co-founder of the scrupulous internet site, Pirate Bay. Another project with a jaded past.
Cryptocurrency supporters of the Mollars project however may be the biggest rival to the company they’ve ever faced. Thousands of Investors can lose a small percentage of potential ROI gains from the loss of the domain. A ‘.com’ tends to be viewed as more trustworthy than something like Mollars.CC, though ‘CC’ is more descriptive of Cryptocurrency.
On the other hand, Presale investors may not be swayed, but generally no investor wants to see an entity try to put blemish on a ‘diamond gem’ they’ve found, no matter what the case.
Investors Money Can’t Be Stolen from Mollars Token Presale Wallet
As for the nearly half-a-million dollars raised thus far for the $MOLLARS token project, all investments are still secured. In the tweet made earlier today by Mollars developers, it was made very clear all investors’ funds remain unbothered by the Domain debacle.
“All funds are 100% safe. This event has done /does no harm to the actual token project nor the money contributed in the token presale,” reads a second line from the tweet.
The inexperienced may not realize how token presale funds are stored, but it’s not on the actual domain itself. All cryptocurrency, even from Initial coin offerings, is stored in a crypto wallet who has a special key to access it. Alongside that wallet key, the smart contract used to bridge payments, adds security to ensure funds go to the right place.
The Pirate Bay & Njal.la founder cannot access Mollars funds by stealing the Mollars.com domain.
Why is Njal.la & Peter Sunde stealing domains?
The reason for stealing so many domains from clients is probably some sort of back-end profit to domain hijackers. Once a domain’s brand has become big enough to generate hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars via type-in and SERPS, it has massive value. Domains like Mollars.com can be resold on the black-market for massive amounts of money.
In highly competitive niches like cryptocurrency, Peter Sunde & company could also profit by taking back-door payments from rival brands. A 5-figure payment to ‘snipe’ a competitor’s domain is a lucrative business for a ‘fake domain registry’ company.
Where to Buy Mollars Now?
Regardless, investors can visit www.Mollars.cc for the latest updates on the Bitcoin-alternative’s token presale. The original domain may be returned to the creator of the Mollars’ token project in the future.
To date the $MOLLARS ICO has raised nearly $520,000 (USD) and is on track to selling all 4-million tokens of the available presale supply by the end of this month.
Disclaimer: The Industry Talk section features insights by crypto industry players and is not a part of the editorial content of Cryptonews.com.
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