HNS: Over the Years
As the end of 2023 approaches, this is a time to reflect on the state of the HNS protocol and community. There is an inherent beauty in the decentralized nature and ethos of Handshake...
As the end of 2023 approaches, this is a time to reflect on the state of the HNS protocol and community. There is an inherent beauty in the decentralized nature and ethos of Handshake, which is a rarity among blockchains and crypto in recent years. Bull or bear, there is a heartbeat every 10 minutes. Almost four years post-launch, there is a small, but passionate community of misfits, nerds, and originals.
The early adoption and usage of the HNS protocol can best be described as a web of uncoordinated happenings, inching slowly, but surely, towards destiny as the base of the decentralized web. The signs are there; the following are a few highlights. Afterwards, I implore you to dive into HNS further and join the ride by contributing where you can.
The Beginnings (2010-2019)
To understand the beginnings of Handshake (HNS) and “DNS on blockchain,” here is a video that I made on the subject: The Origin of Handshake. There has never been anything quite like Handshake (HNS), as evidenced by the novel event where the co-creators raised $10.2 million from top venture capital funds (see list here), only to donate 100% of that to the Free & Open Source Software (FOSS) community.
Other resources on what Handshake is and why it matters:
MIT Bitcoin Expo 2019 - Handshake: An Experimental, Peer-to-Peer Root DNS. Presenter: Boyma Fahnbulleh.
On Handshake (article). Authors: Andrew Lee, Cassandra Shi, Meow.
Handshake Naming System: How this Blockchain Project will Dismantle the Keepers of the Internet (article). Author: Chjango Unchained.
Handshake design notes (paper). Authors: Joseph Poon, Christopher (JJ) Jeffrey.
First Two Years of the Protocol (2020-2021)
timeline.handshake/ is a Handshake Timeline that covers from launch (February 3rd, 2020) to December 31st, 2021.
A HNS resolver (suggestions below) is required in order to view this timeline.
Fingertip (Desktop) - securely access HNS from any browser
Beacon Browser (Desktop, iOS)
HNSNS (iOS) - easy setup, afterwards resolve HNS sites on any browser
Over the Years: 2022-2023
The Launch of HNS Chat
February 2022
Messaging application using HNS names as login and usernames.
hns.chat on DNS, or hnschat/ on HNS. Also available on iOS.
.S/ HNS TLD sold for 750K USD
March 18th, 2022
.S/ HNS TLD sold for 750K USD at a FlamingoHandshake auction during HandyCon. As of late 2023, .S/ remains the highest NFT domain sale of all time! The domain was purchased by Namecheap’s CEO and Founder, Richard Kirkendall.
Domain Name Wire coverage here.
ICANN paper on Alternative Name Systems is published
April 27th, 2022
An ICANN paper on Alternative Name Systems is published by ICANN’s CTO, Alain Durand. For those unfamiliar, ICANN is an organization with the role of being the gatekeepers of the Internet. In this paper, Handshake is mentioned 26 times! Handshake is the most viable alternative the world has ever seen to opt out of a centralized web framework, so understandably, ICANN feels threatened.
Read the paper here.
Aloha Browser Integrates HNS
May 10th, 2022
Aloha is the largest browser (28 million MAU) to integrate HNS as of this date.
Read the bitcoin.com press release.
Handshake Reaches 5 Million Names
June 2023
Handshake reaches 5 million names in existence, far surpassing all other alternative namespaces combined. Notably, only top level domains (TLDs) live on the Handshake blockchain.
To look at HNS stats: The Shake or HNS Cymon.
Namecheap lists community-owned HNS TLDs
July 2022
Community-owned TLDs (.c, .1, .tx, etc.) staked with the Namebase Registry became available to register on Namecheap, the 2nd largest domain registrar in the world.
Read the Hey TX press release.
The Launch of Impervious Registry
July 24th, 2022
The Impervious Registry marks the first streamlined offering of decentralized second-level domains (dSLDs) through Ethereum smart contracts, while being anchored in the HNS root zone.
The Shake on the Impervious Registry Launch.
Reserved Name Claims
August 2022
.Tattoo was claimed on August 11th by Top Level Design, so .Tattoo effectively has a root zone with ICANN and HNS. HNS is enabling the web to be more robust, antifragile, and ripe for innovation. Earlier that week, Keybase claimed .Keybase on HNS. In recent months, 5 ICANN TLDs bridged over to HNS, including when the nation of Palau claimed .pw. Think about that for a second. It took only two years for a nation to adopt HNS!
Handshake had a huge presence at NamesCon
September 2022
Handshake had a huge presence at NamesCon, the largest domain conference in the world. This included HNS community booths, several talks and panels where HNS was the focus, and a FlamingoHandshake auction. At the auction, .E/ sold for $300,000, which eclipsed the highest sale of a legacy domain auction the day prior.
Read the NamesCon 2022 Recap.
.RECORDS launched on the Impervious Registry
October 14th, 2022
.RECORDS, a music-focused namespace, launched on the Impervious Registry. This launch was well thought out and included a coordinated effort by prominent artists.
Read The Shake to learn more.
Antminer HS3 ASIC Miner
December 20th, 2022
Bitmain released the Antminer HS3 ASIC Miner, the most powerful miner for HNS.
Antminer HS3 product page.
Handshake Reaches 10 Million Names
February 14th, 2023
Handshake reaches 10 million names in existence, far surpassing all other alternative namespaces combined. Notably, only top level domains (TLDs) live on the Handshake blockchain.
To look at HNS stats: The Shake or HNS Cymon.
The Launch of Superlink
February 14th, 2023
Superlink is a new domain registrar that enables the cleanest possible personal domain names — first name dot last name domains. To do so, Superlink owns and operates over one million last name top-level domains (TLDs) on Handshake.
Superlink Announcement.
Stems Social
April 17th, 2023
Stems Social, launched by The Shake, was an experimental Bluesky server supporting Handshake domains as handles. Bluesky is a decentralized social protocol that utilizes domains for usernames.
Stems Social Announcement.
Decentralized Auction for .web3
April 20th, 2023
The decentralized vickery auction for .web3 was won for 673K hns. The winning bid represents 2% of all hns burned to date.
.web3 on a HNS block explorer.
HNS - First Halving Complete
April 28th, 2023
HNS completed it’s first halving at block 170,000. Mining rewards were reduced from 2k to 1k HNS per block.
The Shake on the Halving.
The Launch of ShakeStation
May 22nd, 2023
ShakeStation: a new marketplace for HNS names
shakestation.io on DNS, or shakestation/ on HNS
The Launch of HNS.ID
September 1st, 2023
HNS.ID, built by Namebase over the past year, launched. HNS.ID is a decentralized domain registry that offers decentralized second-level domains (dSLDs) through Handshake and Optimism Network. The first four HNS TLD’s to become available: .hns, .nb, .d, and .hey.
HNS.ID and .hey Announcement.
HNS Soft Fork Finalized
September 2023
Handshake’s first soft fork, known as The Happening, was finalized for late January to early February 2024. Around 80k HNS previously reserved names, many of them premium, will become available for the first time. Overall, this changes the economics and incentives, which will encourage further adoption of HNS.
Article on The Happening.
Looking Forward (2024)
The Happening Soft Fork
Around Feb 3rd, The Happening soft fork will commence. HNS coin is needed to bid on these names through a decentralized auction. Learn more here.
Below are a few different options for bidding:
Bob Wallet (self-custodial)
Shakestation (platform)
Namebase (platform)
Carbon Browser HNS Integration
Handshake integration is planned to go live on Carbon Browser in Q2 2024. Carbon is a web3, privacy-focused browser.
Carbon Browser Roadmap.
Thunderbolt and Spaceship
Thunderbolt is an upcoming technology that will revolutionize the way we all communicate. Having been worked on for the past three years by Namecheap, Thunderbolt offers “next-generation voice, video, and chat messaging using your domain name” instead of a phone number. Essentially, Thunderbolt is P2P communication through DNS. Benefits include more privacy, security (encrypted, passwordless), and control (eg. remove spam), in addition to not having to memorize or lookup numbers. Ask yourself, is it easier to memorize or lookup 10 random digits, or simply use your friend’s human readable name (eg. nole.hey)? There are huge implications for businesses utilizing Thunderbolt and HNS names too as a replacement for their support systems and communication methods (eg. call or chat with support.BusinessName). Beta will be released soon for early users; visit here to learn more and sign up. When available, feel free to send a message to nole.hey!
Also built by Namecheap, Spaceship is a next-generation domain registrar that will be compatible with HNS names for domain registration, management, marketplace, building sites, emails, and more!