Working in the blockchain space can be complicated for those who are not familiar with coding, link structures, and general knowledge of how software behaves. Showing my age, I can liken this back to the early days of the internet when normies were being onboarded to the net. Before Netscape Navigator, one of the very first web browsers, connecting via dial-up required command-line knowledge, then Netscape created the GUI, but the non-technicals still had a hard time. It wasn’t until the late 1990s that regular people started to jump on the connectivity wagon through a relatively big change in applications. America Online, also known as AOL, created a new way to conduct web searches through something known as “Keywords”, effectively removing the then difficult-to-remember “http://www.” from the URL. Simply typing a word in the dedicated AOL search bar would result in a faster and easier way to find what you are looking for. Perhaps the single biggest step for the general population to enter the new space.
Fast forward more than twenty years (Sheesh ya I am old) blockchain is creating similar patterns as those from the mid to late 90s. While we all have multiple wallet addresses, consisting of a string of letters and numbers, the use case is not as easy for those who struggle to understand new technologies. $handle a new NFT project is looking to remedy this much like AOL did for removing the complexities of “computer speak” from URLs and was eventually adopted by the masses.
$handle is a standardized NFT that developers and users can use to associate an address with a custom and human-readable address. Now instead of a random string of letters and numbers, users can adopt a unique handle that is easy to remember and read. Each handle will be delivered to the owner as an NFT and whatever wallet holds that NFT is where payments can be sent and will be routed to the user’s wallet address. This can create a seamless way to interact within the community creating an identifiable address for those promoting projects alleviating the pressure of making sure the wallet address is inputted correctly.
$handle names at the moment are only in UTF-8 characters and are converted to lowercase characters only. Names can range from 1 character to up to 15 characters. Since these are NFTs, each name can be bought, traded, and sold like any NFT. Currently, the $handle team has set up guidelines for extraordinary names like single or two characters, designating these with legendary and Ultra Rare traits; the rarity traits are as follows;
- Legendary (1 character): Auction Only, (39 possibilities)
- Ultra Rare (2 characters): 500 $ADA (1521 possibilities)
- Rare (3 characters): 100 $ADA (59,319 possibilities)
- Common (4–7): 50 $ADA (140,842,288,080 possibilities)
- Basic (8–15): 10 $ADA (753,789,555,901,817,000,000,000 possibilities)
Current Cardano native address example: Addr1qxx00r962ku8dl7wekn67kxxxjpcyfyul4dtgk…swugd
Handle address example: $example ($custom_name)
Currently, in beta-sale, each $handle is a one-time sale and when you buy it, you own it — forever. Just like any other NFT, you can sell your Handle on any Cardano NFT marketplace or between users. However, using the address within an exchange is not permitted, only user-to-user transactions can be handled at the time. As more and more dApps are created, it would be up to the developers to integrate $handle connections including current dApps such as NFT-Maker.io and SundaeSwap.
$handle looks to improve the usability and functionality of their service in future updates including moving to smart contract minting, burner/recycling pot for privacy and/or temporary handle usage, an official $handle marketplace, and of course DAO governance.
The crypto space is growing at a rapid pace and the similarities to that of the early internet 30 years prior are reminiscent in many ways. Could services like $handle be the catalyst to onboard new users? Could this be the “keyword”, much like AOL did in the 1990s, a feature that people finally recognize and decide to adopt? These times, we are still in the early stages, but with each passing day, the general population is being pulled closer and closer to the singularity that is blockchain.
***Single Point Gallery does not give out financial advice nor are we affiliated with this project, we are merely an informational and entertainment entity. Buyers should always complete their own due diligence and decide on their own merits***