Handshake is a decentralized, permissionless naming protocol where every peer is validating and in charge of managing the root DNS naming zone with the goal of creating an alternative to existing Certificate Authorities and naming systems.

An experimental peer-to-peer root naming system.

By running Handshake, one can participate in a decentralized open naming platform secured by a decentralized peer-to-peer network.

- A base layer for the decentralized internet. The internet is arranged in layers, to decentralize the internet, we need to start at the lowest layers of the stack. Secure naming ensures user agents are talking to the right endpoints.

- True decentralization, no official singular Foundation, Committee, Corporation, or entities in permanent unitary control of the protocol.

- Economic incentives enable decentralized agreements to form via a transparent name auction process. Without some kind of economic cost function, one person could register all names.

- Alternative to certificate authorities, using a decentralized trust anchor to prove domain ownership.

- Distributed and permissionless zone file to which any participant has the right to add an entry or serve as host and validator.

- Light clients via merkelized proofs and proof-of-work allow for lightweight name resolutions and certificates.

Handshake uses a coin system for name registration. The Handshake coin (HNS) is the mechanism by which participants transfer, register, and update internet names. The community will be able to initiate auctions and place bids for top-level domains using HNS or trade their HNS as they see fit, with differing value per name.

Source Code: Multiple implementations may exist. Initial code: GitHub, Download. GUI Full Node Wallet: Bob Wallet, Source Code.