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Will new technologies, such as blockchains, replace the current Domain Name System (DNS)?
There is a current project called "Handshake" (HNS) that is proposing to use it's blockchain to replace the current root servers and root zone files. This system would completely bypass current registries, such as Verisign, and completely bypass ICANN. The idea is to create a decentralized authority bypassing ICANN's centralized and abusive powers.
The proposal goes on to say that domains will be auctioned and effectively anyone can end up running their own decentralized registry via blockchain.
Also of interest is that within the protocol the dots, such as "." will not be needed. As HNS described, someone could bid for "BruceLee" and the browser would recognize this by entering "BruceLee/".
This proposal seems to be getting some momentum with some big names in the technology and VC sphere being early adopters.
More from those proposing "Handshake."
"How do Handshake domains work?
Handshake domains work just like the centralized ICANN domain system, with a few key exceptions. In the world of domains, stuff like “com” “net” and “org” are referred to as Generic Top Level Domains or TLDs. In addition to those ones, there are new TLDs like .pizza or .business, and Country Code TLDs like .io (Indian Ocean) or .ly (Libya). ICANN decides, through a complicated auction and voting process, what top level domains will be approved, and then individual domain registrars who own those TLDs get to sell access to the subdomains on top of them.
On Handshake, *anyone* can register a new TLD, without having to ask for anyone elses permission! So in the beginning on Handshake there is likely to be a rush to register TLDs that will be in demand for people who want to put subdomains on top of them. For example, if you registered “lee” on Handshake, then say Bruce Lee could come and buy bruce.lee from you! So that will probably be where most people direct their attention initially.
However, because anyone can register a tld, another option is to simply USE tlds as your domain. So for example, bruce lee can just register “brucelee” and use it, sans any subdomains. This is pretty awesome, but its also a new pattern for users, and they will have to get used to it. Browsers will also have to choose to adopt allowing bare TLDs instead of assuming they are search terms (currently if you type brucelee into a browser, it won’t do a DNS lookup but will just google brucelee for you). That said, if you enter "brucelee/" your browser will correctly recognize that as a domain. We believe that browsers will offer optional support for this pretty quickly (Brave is already [evaluating](https://twitter.com/BrendanEich/status/1036389193864208384)), and perhaps some will make it the default soon, but in the beginning domains that follow the “thing.domain” pattern will be most in demand because they will simply “work” with existing browsers, as long as users point their DNS at a handshake-supporting server, or if the large DNS servers begin to support Handshake domains."
Handshake white paper:
https://namebase.io/handshake-whitepaper/
There is a current project called "Handshake" (HNS) that is proposing to use it's blockchain to replace the current root servers and root zone files. This system would completely bypass current registries, such as Verisign, and completely bypass ICANN. The idea is to create a decentralized authority bypassing ICANN's centralized and abusive powers.
The proposal goes on to say that domains will be auctioned and effectively anyone can end up running their own decentralized registry via blockchain.
Also of interest is that within the protocol the dots, such as "." will not be needed. As HNS described, someone could bid for "BruceLee" and the browser would recognize this by entering "BruceLee/".
This proposal seems to be getting some momentum with some big names in the technology and VC sphere being early adopters.
More from those proposing "Handshake."
"How do Handshake domains work?
Handshake domains work just like the centralized ICANN domain system, with a few key exceptions. In the world of domains, stuff like “com” “net” and “org” are referred to as Generic Top Level Domains or TLDs. In addition to those ones, there are new TLDs like .pizza or .business, and Country Code TLDs like .io (Indian Ocean) or .ly (Libya). ICANN decides, through a complicated auction and voting process, what top level domains will be approved, and then individual domain registrars who own those TLDs get to sell access to the subdomains on top of them.
On Handshake, *anyone* can register a new TLD, without having to ask for anyone elses permission! So in the beginning on Handshake there is likely to be a rush to register TLDs that will be in demand for people who want to put subdomains on top of them. For example, if you registered “lee” on Handshake, then say Bruce Lee could come and buy bruce.lee from you! So that will probably be where most people direct their attention initially.
However, because anyone can register a tld, another option is to simply USE tlds as your domain. So for example, bruce lee can just register “brucelee” and use it, sans any subdomains. This is pretty awesome, but its also a new pattern for users, and they will have to get used to it. Browsers will also have to choose to adopt allowing bare TLDs instead of assuming they are search terms (currently if you type brucelee into a browser, it won’t do a DNS lookup but will just google brucelee for you). That said, if you enter "brucelee/" your browser will correctly recognize that as a domain. We believe that browsers will offer optional support for this pretty quickly (Brave is already [evaluating](https://twitter.com/BrendanEich/status/1036389193864208384)), and perhaps some will make it the default soon, but in the beginning domains that follow the “thing.domain” pattern will be most in demand because they will simply “work” with existing browsers, as long as users point their DNS at a handshake-supporting server, or if the large DNS servers begin to support Handshake domains."
Handshake white paper:
https://namebase.io/handshake-whitepaper/