The Shake: May 15, 2022
A publication on Handshake and the DWeb. Towards a New Internet.
Handshake, by the numbers
Namecheap CEO Richard Kirkendall on .p SLD registrations: “Will go up exponentially once we feature HNS more prominently [on Namecheap]”
On Handshake subdomains, and security without authority
When you visit sites over “HTTPS”, the lock in your browser signals a connection secured by a trusted third-party organization, a Certificate Authority.
Handshake is not just an experiment in sovereign naming, but sovereign security — replacing trusted Certificate Authorities (CAs) with truly end-to-end encryption. Using Handshake and DANE, it is possible to both resolve domains and securely connect to them entirely without middlemen.
Security without authority, as the Impervious team says.
Today, there are various methods for users that own their own Handshake top level domains to self-sign certificates and secure their domains without trusted CAs. Extending zero-trust HTTPS from Handshake top level domains to Handshake subdomains is an important step towards mainstream adoption. It is not necessary to hold a Handshake TLD in a self custodial wallet to replace Certificate Authorities, this would be asking too much of all the internet’s users.
LetsDANE.net is a new project working on enabling DANE support to self-sign certificates for Handshake subdomains. In parallel, registrars from Namecheap to Gateway to Porkbun are making Handshake subdomains as accessible to acquire as traditional subdomains. Between DANE support and registrar support for Handshake SLDs, we can upgrade the web’s security while maintaining all the convenience of traditionally managed domain names.
This Week in Handshake
¹ LetsDANE DANE support for Handshake subdomains. LetsDANE generates a certificate and TLSA record from an ephemeral Certificate Authority. ➟
² Namecheap Registry As soon as next week, Namecheap is set to open its new registry for Handshake TLD owners. “At least for a few of the TLDs and we will open for all a short time later. Porkbun has also already integrated with us and other partners are on their way,” says Richard Kirkendall, Namecheap CEO. ➟
³ Namebase Leadership A transition of leadership has been made amidst Namecheap’s acquisition of Namebase. Chris Moos is the new CTO of Namebase and Jenn Suarez, General Counsel for Namecheap, is the new head of Namebase’s crypto exchange. ➟
⁴ Aloha Browser Initial gateway support for Handshake from the Aloha privacy-focused mobile browser. The announcement came in partnership with Hey TX. ➟
⁵ Niami Redesign One part block explorer, one part auction interface, one part profile and portfolio builder — the all-in-one Handshake website, Niami, has an updated look. ➟
Crypto media channels banned, un-banned from YouTube
Bankless and Optimism each had their YouTube channels taken down for days without warning or reason. They have since been reinstated, but what do we do when these take downs last longer? What do we need to see adoption of decentralized storage protocols as an alternative?
HandyGrants
Building on Handshake? Submit a proposal for a micro grant from HandyOSS.