Namecoin
Decentralize all the things!
Namecoin is an experimental open-source project that registers and transfers key/value pairs using Bitcoin-derived technology, addressing censorship, privacy, and centralization in internet infrastructure such as DNS and identities. It supports human-meaningful Tor .onion domains, the .bit top-level domain, decentralized TLS certificate validation backed by blockchain consensus, and attaching identity data such as GPG and OTR keys, email, Bitcoin, and Bitmessage addresses to a chosen identity.
Names can hold values up to 520 bytes, and the network transacts the namecoins (NMC) digital currency. Lookups generate no network traffic, improving privacy. Namecoin was the first Bitcoin fork and implemented merged mining and decentralized DNS. Components include Namecoin Core, wallets, browsing instructions, and a security model with coordinated vulnerability disclosure. The project is open source and distributed through downloads, with no paid editions or seat-based pricing indicated.
12 alternatives to Namecoin
Ranked by how well each tool replaces Namecoin: shared features, audience, price and popularity.
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