Sometimes it is tedious to store all our crypto wallet addresses, in the same way when someone asks you where they paid you and looking for that long alphanumeric code that we often lose or confuse which is the right wallet. In Solana have the solution thanks to SNS (Solana Name Service).
What is Solana Name Service?
Solana Name Service (SNS) allows users to own domain names mapped to an address, content identifier, image, and more. Its most commonly known function is to cutomize wallet addresses into a user-friendly format, which is similar to the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) but on Solana.
The domain names of SNS are actually important in the web3 space; users no longer have to remember their wallet addresses when invoicing payments on the go. You may be familiar with the concept of the Domain Name System (DNS), which is predominantly used as the ‘phonebook’ of the Internet, allowing everyone to access websites through URLs instead of IP addresses.
Blockchain domains work similarly, except they are decentralized, meaning that there is no registry company that controls the domains. Users get to fully own the domain names that they purchase to be used as they please. Since SNS has a decentralized nature, users can freely utilize domain names without being anxious about getting censored or having their website taken down.
Now you might be wondering how do get my crypto identity? The pioneer Dao in Solana to provide this service was called Bondifa. This innovation was launched in Q2 of 2021 and revolutionized the way you execute transactions. A curious fact is that Bondifa recently changed its name to SNS.
What is Bondifa or SNS?
Keep mentioning Bondifa because there are many users who do not know that they changed their name and in order not to cause confusion at times will refer to it this way.
Bonfida (SNS) is a blockchain infrastructure protocol that provides a suite of products aimed at bridging gaps between various protocols across Solana, ranging from decentralized naming services to encrypted messaging. This enables the community to replace complex wallet addresses with customizable characters.
SNS has a simple mission of providing a decentralized and yet affordable way to map domain names (represented as .sol) to on-chain data. Where on-chain data can be anything from a Solana (SOL) address to IPFS CID, images, text, and more. One of the clear benefits of the name service is a human-readable name that maps to a SOL address. Essentially, creating an identity for users in the metaverse.
Nonetheless, Solana domain names can have much broader applications than just payments. Most decentralized apps (dApps) have a single point of failure which is their centralized and censorable domain name. However, on-chain domain names cannot be censored or taken away! Thus a website hosted on IPFS (or Arweave) using a Solana domain name would be completely decentralized.
A typical Solana address looks like this: AjKyVmNk5Li7oYG71thNX5iVzrYbKeqRMPPaPLqZE. No wonder cryptocurrencies are taking longer to get mass adoption. You can’t memorize something like this. In reality, it is tedious to memorize this, the solution that SNS provides is to just share your domain, whether pepito.sol, it greatly simplifies the process.
Twitter handles to receive crypto?
Bondifa (SNS) makes it easier for you, if you are too lazy to share pepito.sol now you can use your Twitter username or use it as a domain to receive assets within solana, fantastic isn't it? Both Twitter handles and .sol domain names are a part of SNS, yet are slightly different.
A Twitter handle can only be claimed by the owner of the Twitter account. In order to guarantee this, the user needs to tweet the wallet address they want to associate with the account and then sign a transaction using the same wallet address. An oracle then verifies that the public key contained in the tweet matches with the signer. In practice, this means that Twitter names are already reserved.
Twitter users just need to claim their public key by tweeting it. Still, this has privacy implications that require you to have an identifiable Twitter account. This is where .sol domain names are useful. The domain names serve the same purpose as Twitter handles except they do not require you to reveal any personal information or a Twitter account.
FIDA Token ($FIDA)
Bonfida has a utility and governance token called $FIDA , which can be used in different ways, including purchasing domain names, using the platform’s bots, and staking. Furthermore, the token can also be used to either submit proposals regarding the protocol’s development or upgrade, or cast votes on proposals made by others. By being a holder, you essentially become somewhat of a shareholder or governing council member of Bonfida.
FIDA is the native token of the platform, used for the following functions:
Value accrual: A percentage of fees generated from Bonfida products (Perpetual Swap, Name Services, Bonfida Bot) will be used to buy and burn FIDA.
Staking rewards: Users will receive FIDA as a reward by staking their FIDA tokens.
Fee discounts: Users can enjoy tiered discounts on platform fees for products such as perpetual swap and name services, based on the amount of FIDA held.
Governance: Token holders will be able to submit and vote on governance proposals to influence the platform development and treasury management.
How to get your .SOL domain ?
First you must go to https://www.sns.id/, have a wallet in your closet, be it phantom, Solflare, etc. Search for the domain name you want. In this example I have used "losjalamecate.sol" and this domain appears to be unregistered.
Select "Add to cart" and if this is all the shopping you want to do, you can continue by clicking "Continue to cart". This cart only has one domain in it. If you are ready to proceed with your purchase you can select "Checkout"
Select Account Size. Click "Continue to Cart" or the Cart icon in the top corner of the page. You'll see your domain listed in the cart and underneath it Storage 1kB Edit. Click Edit, and you'll see a screen like this:
Setting your account's storage amount is an important step for advanced use cases because your account size cannot change after the domain is created. Bonfida explains that "1kb is enough for non-advanced users (using .sol domains for transactions)" and "10kb is suggested for advanced users (to resolve to an IPFS hosted website)". More information about Solana rent is available here. We will be using 1kb for ours. Though you can select any value between 1 and 10, it really only makes sense to do so if you have a specific advanced usecase in mind and you know the amount of storage you will need.
Now simply select the solana wallet of your choice to connect it with SNS and proceed with the payment of your unique domain to facilitate operations within solana, in the next step you can choose what type of coins to use for your payment, I recommend using the token FIDA since you can get a 5% discount, could see that giving quick purchase. You would save around $1, which is used to pay fees.
Once the purchase is signed and accepted, you now have your own domain to receive your digital assets within solana in a super simple way, you can choose a customizable domain or your Twitter ID. I haven't bought my domain yet, the moment I do, be aware that will make a video about the procedure, in short it is super easy to do, I have read that you can use this domain in other blockchains by making bridge, we will touch on that in another article.
If you liked this educational content, just leave your comments and a good like that helps me a lot! Always remember to DYOR at all times
Resources
https://docs.sns.id/collection/solana-name-service/an-introduction-to-the-solana-name-service
https://sns.guide/
Search Engines