G

Trust-badge-system

Trust-badge-system

Gao Domain — Open Claim + Verified Badge Trust Model#

Version

GD-TRUST/1.1

Date

2026-03-29

Status

Internal — Architecture & Policy

Owner

Toii Labs LLC / Gao Workspace LLC

Core Insight#

”.gao is not ICANN DNS — it is not bound by trademark law in the traditional sense. Rather than blocking domains, Gao opens claim completely — and protects users through a Badge system. Verification is a trust signal, not a gatekeeper.”

This is a paradigm shift from how ENS, Unstoppable Domains, and ICANN handle the same problem.

Dimension

Old Model (ENS / ICANN)

Gao Model

Core logic

Block → Protect

Open → Verify → Trust

nike.gao

Blocked; trademark holder must prove ownership

Anyone can register; displays “Unverified”

Legitimate owner path

Complex legal process

Claims nikecompany.gao; receives Official Badge

Ops overhead

High; requires ongoing legal review

Infrastructure-based; scales to 10M domains

Friction

High for legitimate owners

Zero friction for everyone

Part 1 — Why This Model Is Correct#

Five Reasons Open + Badge Outperforms Block

① Gao is not the trademark police

Block model forces Gao to adjudicate who is the “rightful owner” — creating legal liability. Badge model means Gao only verifies identity, not ownership: “We confirm this is Nike Inc. — who should own _nike.gao_ is a market question.”

② Revenue maximization

Under a block model, nike.gao generates $0 (blocked forever). Under the badge model: nike.gao sells for $2,999 (any registrant) + nikecompany.gao sells for $2,999 (Nike) + Brand Verification Fee $499/year = $6,497+ from the Nike brand ecosystem.

③ Market self-correction

A squatter registers nike.gao → displays “⚠️ Unverified” → users distrust it → domain loses market value → squatter cannot extract ransom → Nike acquires it cheaply on secondary market or simply operates nikecompany.gao with an Official Badge. The ecosystem self-cleans without Gao intervention.

④ Infinite scalability

Block model requires ops review for every trademark claim and legal review for every dispute — it cannot scale. Badge model is pure infrastructure: KYB verification + badge issuance scales to 10M+ domains with no additional headcount.

⑤ Correct positioning for the new internet

The old internet uses centralized authority to decide who gets what. Gao Internet uses open access with transparent trust signals — analogous to Twitter/X’s Blue Badge, but for the identity layer. Users make informed decisions; Gao provides the information.

Part 2 — Badge System Architecture#

Four Badge Levels

╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║  LEVEL 0  ░░░  Unverified                                ║
║           Domain registered; no verification on file     ║
║           Display: ⚠️ or no icon                         ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║  LEVEL 1  ✓    Identity Verified                         ║
║           Real person / entity confirmed                  ║
║           Display: ✓ grey checkmark                      ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║  LEVEL 2  ✅    Business Verified                         ║
║           Registered business entity confirmed            ║
║           Display: ✅ blue checkmark                      ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║  LEVEL 3  🏛   Official / Institutional Badge            ║
║           Brand trademark OR government entity confirmed  ║
║           Display: 🏛 gold badge + "Official" label      ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

---

#### Level 0 — Unverified

**Who:** Any domain registrant who has not completed verification.

**System display:**

nike.gao ⚠️ Unverified Domain This domain has not been verified by Gao. Proceed with caution when interacting with this identity.


**Capabilities:**

Feature

Access

Register domain

✅

Add wallet address

✅

Create basic web page

✅

Receive payments

✅ (with warning shown to sender)

Create AI agents

✅

Use “Official” in profile

❌

Verified badge

❌

Gao featured listings

❌

**Payment warning shown to sender:**

⚠️ Warning: nike.gao is an unverified domain. Gao cannot confirm this is associated with Nike Inc. or any official entity. Proceed only if you trust the owner of this domain.

[Cancel] [I understand, proceed anyway]

Level 1 — Identity Verified ✓

Who: Individual users who have completed identity verification.

Requirements: Government-issued ID (passport or national ID) · Selfie verification · Phone number · Email confirmation

Display:

john.gao
✓ Identity Verified
John Nguyen — Individual

Additional capabilities vs. Level 0: Grey checkmark displayed · Payments processed without warning · Eligible for Gao Workspace Pro features · Subdomain creation · AI agent publishing

Fee: Free (included with Gao account verification)

Level 2 — Business Verified ✅

Who: Businesses, startups, and organizations that have completed KYB verification.

Requirements:

  • Business registration document (Certificate of Incorporation or Business License)

  • Tax ID / EIN

  • Authorized representative ID

  • Business address verification

  • Domain relevance check: business name must be meaningfully related to the domain (e.g., “Amy’s Nail Salon” → nailsalonbyamy.gao ✅; “Random LLC” → nike.gao → flagged for review)

Display:

nailsalonbyamy.gao
✅ Business Verified
Amy's Nail Salon — Business Entity
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Additional capabilities vs. Level 1: Blue checkmark displayed · Full business profile with official information · Featured in Gao Directory · Payments accepted without warning · Multi-user workspace · Seal Agent commercial deployment · Gao Affiliate Program eligibility

Fee: $99/year (or included in Workspace Business plan)

Level 3 — Official Badge 🏛

Who: Verified trademark holders, official brands, and government entities. This is the most significant badge — equivalent to X’s verified organization checkmark applied to the identity layer.

Requirements for Brands:

  • Registered trademark certificate

  • Official company registration

  • Authorized legal representative

  • Domain relevance check (Nike Inc. verifying nikecompany.gao ✅; if nike.gao is already taken, Nike can verify nikecompany.gao or nike-official.gao)

  • Annual renewal and re-verification

Requirements for Governments:

  • Official government credentials

  • UN recognition (for countries)

  • Government email domain verification

  • Official government representative attestation

Display:

nikecompany.gao
🏛 Official — Nike Inc.
Verified Brand Identity
Beaverton, Oregon, USA ✓

If Nike acquires nike.gao via secondary market and verifies:

nike.gao
🏛 Official — Nike Inc.
⭐️ Primary Brand Domain
Verified Trademark Holder

Full capabilities (all access):

  • Gold/Official badge displayed prominently across all Gao interfaces

  • “Official” label in search results, payment flows, and Gao Browser URL bar

  • Priority placement in search results

  • Subdomain authority: *.nikecompany.gao → store.nikecompany.gao, pay.nikecompany.gao, agent.nikecompany.gao (all subdomains inherit Official status)

  • Brand protection alerts: notified when similar domains are registered

  • Gao Featured Partner status

  • API access for brand management

  • White-label Workspace options

  • Revenue share on ecosystem transactions

Fee: $499/year (Brand) · Free (Government)

Part 3 — Scenario Analysis#

Scenario A — Squatter registers nike.gao

Timeline

Event

T+0

Squatter registers nike.gao for $2,999. Status: ⚠️ Unverified

T+30

Squatter attempts phishing. Payment warning shown to all users. Abuse detection flags activity. Domain suspended if phishing confirmed.

T+90

Squatter lists nike.gao on secondary market. Displays as “Unverified.” Low buyer demand. Buyers know Nike will not pay ransom.

T+180

Squatter abandons domain or sells at steep discount. Nike buys cheaply on secondary market, or simply operates nikecompany.gao with Official Badge.

Result: Gao collects $2,999 revenue. Squatter extracts no value. Nike is protected by badge system. Users are safe.

Scenario B — Domain investor holds nike.gao

Investor registers nike.gao as a speculation play. Approaches Nike for sale. Nike responds: “We’ll operate _nikecompany.gao_ with an Official Badge. Your domain has no value without the badge.”

Investor’s options: obtain Level 1 Identity Verified and sell as an individual domain (market price: $500–$1,000), or hold indefinitely with no utility.

Result: Speculation is structurally disincentivized. Badge value exceeds raw domain name value. Market learns this quickly.

Scenario C — Nike claims nikecompany.gao with Official Badge

Timeline

Event

T+0

Nike applies for Official Badge. Submits trademark certificate, legal rep ID, business documentation.

T+7

Gao verifies (5–7 business days for Official Badge review). nikecompany.gao → 🏛 Official — Nike Inc.

T+14

Nike activates subdomains: pay.nikecompany.gao, store.nikecompany.gao, agent.nikecompany.gao. All inherit Official status.

T+30

Nike announces on social media. Gao receives earned media. Other brands follow.

Result: Nike has full official presence. Gao receives $499/year + PR + ecosystem adoption signal.

Scenario D — Authentic small business

Amy opens a nail salon in Houston. Registers amysnails.gao for $999. Obtains Level 2 Business Verified (✅) by submitting her Texas business license. Verified in 3 days. Fee: $99/year.

Her domain displays: “✅ Amy’s Nail Salon — Business Verified — Houston, TX”

Users trust → book appointments → pay via Gao Pay. No brand confusion. No legal issues. Pure utility.

Result: The ideal .gao ecosystem case. One million small businesses like Amy are the backbone of the domain economy.

Part 4 — Open Claim Policy#

All domains are claimable — with one exception

Open Claim: Any person or entity can register any domain.

Exception — Permanently Blocked (no one can register):

  • gao.gao and core protocol infrastructure names

  • Fraud / phishing keyword combinations (seedphrase.gao, walletrecovery.gao, airdrop-claim.gao)

  • Explicit illegal content indicators

  • Gao ecosystem reserved names (gaopay.gao, payii.gao, meshii.gao, gaoai.gao)

No domain is blocked on trademark grounds alone

Old thinking

Gao thinking

nike.gao is blocked because Nike has a trademark

nike.gao can be registered by anyone — but only Nike Inc. can receive the Official Badge

Implications:

  • Nike cannot force-claim nike.gao

  • Nike can claim nikecompany.gao with an Official Badge

  • If nike.gao is taken, its Unverified status prevents meaningful harm to Nike

  • Nike can purchase nike.gao on the secondary market if desired

Part 5 — Trust Signal Display System#

In Gao Workspace

Verified domain card:

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  🏛  nikecompany.gao               │
│  Official — Nike Inc.               │
│  ─────────────────────────────────  │
│  ✓ Trademark Verified               │
│  ✓ Business Entity Confirmed        │
│  ✓ Legal Rep Verified               │
│  ─────────────────────────────────  │
│  Beaverton, OR, USA                 │
│  Member since: March 2026           │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

Unverified domain card:

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  ⚠️  nike.gao                       │
│  Unverified Domain                  │
│  ─────────────────────────────────  │
│  ✗ No verification on file          │
│  This domain is NOT confirmed to    │
│  be associated with Nike Inc.       │
│  ─────────────────────────────────  │
│  Registered: Jan 2026               │
│  [Report this domain]               │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

In Gao Pay (payment flow)

Sending to verified domain:

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Send $100 USDC to                  │
│  🏛 nikecompany.gao                 │
│  Official — Nike Inc.               │
│  ✓ Safe to proceed                  │
│  [Confirm Payment]                  │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

Sending to unverified domain:

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  ⚠️ CAUTION                         │
│  Send $100 USDC to                  │
│  nike.gao — UNVERIFIED              │
│  Gao cannot confirm this domain     │
│  belongs to Nike Inc. or any        │
│  legitimate entity.                 │
│                                     │
│  [Cancel]  [Proceed at own risk]    │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

In Gao Browser

Domain status

URL bar display

Unverified

🔴 nike.gao — ⚠️ Unverified

Business Verified

🟡 amysnails.gao — ✅ Business Verified

Official

🟢 nikecompany.gao — 🏛 Official: Nike Inc.

Part 6 — Revenue Model#

Revenue Source

Pricing

Annual Estimate

Level 1 Identity Verified

Free

Brand / trust value

Level 2 Business Verified

$99/year recurring

100K businesses × $99 = $9.9M ARR

Level 3 Official Badge (Brands)

$499/year recurring

5,000 brands × $499 = $2.5M ARR

Level 3 Official Badge (Governments)

Free

PR value

Open domain registrations

$199–$2,999 one-time

Volume play (squatters pay too)

Secondary market fees

5% of sale price

Organic liquidity revenue

Total Badge System ARR at scale

~$12M+

Part 7 — Comparison: Gao Official Badge vs. X Blue Badge#

Feature

X Blue Badge

Gao Official Badge

Purpose

Individual / org verification

Domain identity verification

Price

$8–22/month

$499/year brand / Free government

Verification depth

Basic ID check

KYB + trademark + legal rep

Transferable

No (tied to account)

No (tied to domain + entity)

Subdomain authority

N/A

Yes (*.nikecompany.gao)

Payment trust signal

No

Yes (critical to user safety)

Abuse protection

Limited

Real-time monitoring

Government tier

No

Yes (free)

Key difference

Status symbol

Functional trust infrastructure

Gao badge is superior because:

  • Badge directly affects payment safety — the highest-stakes user decision

  • Badge unlocks subdomain authority across an entire namespace

  • Badge is a verifiable on-chain credential, not cosmetic

  • Badge scales with the ecosystem; it is infrastructure, not a feature

Part 8 — Governance & Edge Cases#

Edge Case 1: Nike acquires nike.gao on secondary market

nike.gao sits inactive after squatter abandons it. Nike purchases on secondary market for $500. Nike applies for Official Badge.

Result: nike.gao → 🏛 Official — Nike Inc. Domain value fully restored. Gao collects: $2,999 (original sale) + $500 × 5% secondary fee + $499/year ongoing badge fee.

Edge Case 2: Two entities claim the same brand

Two different “Nike” entities in different jurisdictions both seek verification for the same domain.

Gao policy: The first verified entity receives the Official Badge for that specific domain. The second entity receives an Official Badge for their own domain variant (e.g., nikevietnam.gao). Gao does not adjudicate global trademark disputes: “We verify identity — we do not settle ownership.”

Edge Case 3: Official Badge revocation

Grounds for revocation: Fraudulent verification documents · Domain used for scam or phishing post-verification · Business entity dissolved · Annual renewal fee unpaid · Governance vote in extreme cases

Process:

  1. Warning email issued → 30 days to respond

  2. Badge suspended → domain displays “⚠️ Badge Suspended”

  3. If unresolved → Badge revoked; domain reverts to Unverified status

  4. Owner may re-apply with corrected documentation

Summary — The Gao Domain Trust Philosophy#

“Gao does not decide who deserves to own which domain. The market and users decide that.

Gao’s role is to provide sufficient information for users to make correct decisions.

The Badge system is that information layer — not gatekeeping, but transparency.”

Outcome alignment:

Stakeholder

Outcome

Gao

Maximum revenue (every domain sells)

Legitimate brands

Official presence with verifiable badge

Users

Clear trust signals; protected from scams

Domain investors

Free market (but badge > raw name)

Governments

Free claim; sovereign recognition

Gao Domain Trust Badge Model v1.1 — Architecture Document Toii Labs LLC / Gao Workspace LLC — All rights reserved