Art Malkov on Liquid Domains: From DEPIN.ai to PreProgrammed.com

Art Malkov is basically an all-star in Web3. He was the CMO at Polymarket, a founding contributor at IoTeX during the earliest days of DePIN, and has since advised Web3 startups through Techstars and Columbia University’s accelerator.

When Art acquired DePIN.ai, he didn’t treat it like a speculative flip. He treated it like infrastructure.

Instead of holding the domain privately or selling it OTC, Art launched DePIN.ai on Doma, tokenizing the domain and turning it into a programmable, liquid asset with real onchain utility.

What Changed When a Domain Became a liquid Asset

Since launch:

• 279 token holders now collectively own $DEPIN.AI
• 248 subdomains have already been claimed by builders and operators
• The domain bonded and graduated at $50K.
• The current FDV is at ~$33,647.

But the numbers only tell part of the story.

We sat down with Art to talk about why he did it, what actually changed after tokenizing and launching the domain, and what this means for the future of DomainFi, AI, and DePIN.

Machines Need Identity and Domains Already Solved That

Q: Art, you’ve been early to a lot of categories. Prediction markets, DePIN, now domain tokenization. Tell me the reasoning behind choosing your domain DePIN.ai?

Art: Because it sits at the exact intersection of two massive trends.

DePIN means decentralized physical infrastructure. It’s already a multi-billion-dollar sector. AI is obviously much larger and still accelerating. DePIN.ai is the semantic bridge between machines, wallets, and intelligence. From my time at IoTeX, one thing was clear: machines need identity. And domains are still the cleanest abstraction layer for that.It is a multi billion industry, and I expect it to be on the leading edge in the upcoming bull cycle and be a multi trillion space.

Q: Ok, so when it comes to machines needing identity, why do you think domains, not wallets or IPs, are the right abstraction layer?

Art: Because machines don’t operate in isolation anymore. They operate in networks.

Wallets are terrible interfaces. IP addresses are even worse. They’re not human-readable, not intuitive, and not safe at scale. We already solved this problem once with DNS.

If machines, agents, and AI are going to communicate autonomously, they need identities that humans can understand, manage, and audit. Domains already do that for the internet. DePIN.ai is just extending that logic to the machine economy.

Tokenization Matters

Q: You didn’t just hold the domain privately or sell it OTC. You tokenized it. Why?

Art: Domains have always been strong long-term assets. Holding quality names has worked for decades, and that hasn’t changed. But traditionally, ownership has been binary — you either hold and wait, or you sell outright.

Tokenization adds a third option.

By launching DePIN.ai on Doma, I was able to keep the long-term upside of the domain while also introducing liquidity, participation, and real utility. Tokenization doesn’t replace holding — it expands what holding can look like.

It enabled:

• Optional liquidity without giving up the entire asset
• Shared ownership and broader participation
• Real usage through subdomains and onchain integrations
• Ongoing upside via transaction activity
• A domain that functions as a living, onchain asset — not just a parked name

The core value of the domain remains long term. Tokenization unlocks more ways to activate that value today. 

What Surprised Him Most

Q: What surprised you most after launching on Doma?

Art: First, the speed. I’ve seen fast markets before. But what surprised me was who showed up. Demand came from builders and operators thinking in terms of usage: gpu.depin.ai, cloud.depin.ai, robot.depin.ai etc.

When users immediately ask “How do I claim a subdomain?” you know you’re not dealing with vapor. That’s real traction, not narrative.

Q: Art, if someone watches this and still thinks, “This is interesting, but I don’t see why it matters now,” what would you tell them?

Art: I’d say timing is the whole point. Machines are coming online faster than people realize. Devices, agents, robots will all need identity, coordination, and trust before they scale, not after.

We made that mistake with Web2. We patched the infrastructure once it was already brittle. When AI and physical infrastructure converge at scale, the naming, routing, and ownership layers that domains provide will be foundational. Let’s learn from the past and be ahead of the curve.

What’s Next For Art?

“For the first time ever, you can own fractional shares of PreProgrammed.com—a premium one-word .com domain—through tokenized ownership on DOMA.xyz. No need for $500,000 in cash. No competing with billionaires. Just transparent, blockchain-based fractional ownership of one of the most philosophically relevant domains in tech history.

- Young Woo Shin -  Silicon.nyc

Following DEPIN.ai's launch, Art will be launching his next domain "PreProgrammed.com" on Doma this Friday, a one word .com domain that was just featured on Silicon.nyc. Quite like DEPIN.ai, PreProgrammed.com is also a highly relevant keyword. It spans multiple sectors such as AI, robotics, neuroscience, automation, gaming, IoT, and human consciousness.

Now you can be a part of  .com and .ai, from Art’s portfolio. Don't miss out on it. 

Launch Date: January 30th, 2026
Sign up here to participate.

PreProgrammed.com is next.

Launch Date: Friday, January 30th 2026 - 16:00 UTC