Introduction
Welcome to the Namebase Learning Center!
You'll find resources dedicated to Handshake and Namebase here. Feel free to use, copy, and share the information as you please!
Own your name on the Internet
As part of the decentralized web movement, our community is taking the Internet back from the handful of corporations who currently own it and placing it into the hands of the people by dismantling ICANN's monopoly on top-level domains (.com, .org, .io are all top-level domains controlled by ICANN).
When you attempt to visit a website like https://namebase.io, your browser will first need to figure out how to get to .io's servers.
To find .io, your browser will consult something called the root zone file. You can think of this file like a spreadsheet where:
- Column A are the TLDs, .com, .net, .org, .io
- Column B are the servers each TLD points to
Controlling the spreadsheet is a single entity called ICANN. They alone dictate whether you’re allowed to have a top-level domain. So if you want to add a row on the spreadsheet for .yourname, you'd need to submit an application and pay a fee for ICANN to review your request.
What this means is the entire domain name system that everyone uses around the world is effectively controlled at its core by a single organization, ICANN. Handshake changes this by moving the spreadsheet onto a decentralized blockchain that nobody controls, so now anyone can get a top-level domain.
Handshake decentralizes the Internet by shifting control of the root zone file away from ICANN and onto a decentralized blockchain.
HNS refers to the Handshake coin, which is the digital currency of the Handshake blockchain. HNS is used to bid in Handshake name auctions and the winning bids are burned from the blockchain (the winning bids do not get paid to anybody), which has a deflationary effect on the coin's price. HNS is also used to pay transaction fees to the miners, who add bidding, renewal, and other transactions to the Handshake blockchain.
To get started on Handshake, you just need to buy some Handshake coins, use your Handshake coins to get a name, and begin using your new Handshake name.
Last modified 9mo ago