Welcome to the Namebase Learning Center! You'll find resources dedicated to Handshake and Namebase here. Feel free to use and share the information as you please!

Handshake

​Handshake is the only way to truly own .yourname/ 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).

Own your name on the new Internet

Handshake names are top-level domains (TLDs), however unlike ICANN who charges an $185,000 "evaluation fee" for new TLD applications‌, Handshake names are distributed through transparent and public vickrey-style auctions that anyone can participate in. Handshake names live on the decentralized and open source Handshake blockchain, which nobody has control of, making the names censorship-resistant, private, and seizure-proof. Handshake names are owned forever, and the only reoccuring cost is a biennial "heartbeat transaction" (just the standard mining fee) used to prove the TLD owner still has access to their name. And rather than being limited to renting from a small number of ICANN TLDs like .com and .org, you can own almost any Handshake top-level domain you can think of, including yourname/, 可乐/, and 🤝/!‌

HNS

​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 creates deflationary effects on the coin's price. HNS is also used to pay transaction fees to the miners, who add bidding and renewal transactions to the Handshake blockchain.‌

Namebase

​Namebase is an onramp for Handshake. We did not create Handshake, but just like you are, we are Directors of Handshake. Our goal is to make Handshake easy-to-use to enable mass adoption, and you can use our platform to easily buy and sell HNS as well as bid on, purchase, sell, and use Handshake names.‌