To send any form of transaction over the blockchain, you first need to know the public address you’re sending to. Public addresses are a sequence of up to 42 alphanumeric characters, which act as the recipient’s unique identifier. They are the default method for sending and receiving crypto and are notoriously difficult to remember, prone to errors when inputting manually, and challenging to manage — especially for those new to the world of crypto.
The solution? Naming services. By taking these complex alphanumeric public addresses and replacing them with a simple, easy-to-remember nickname, naming services can streamline user onboarding, improve accessibility to Decentralized Finance products, and boost brand familiarity.
In this blog post, we’ll take an in-depth look at the RIF Naming Service (RNS) and explore the benefits it brings to users and businesses alike by transforming cumbersome blockchain addresses into easily memorable, human-readable aliases.
What is RIF Naming Service (RNS)?
RIF Naming Service (RNS) is a decentralized, open-source, and permissionless naming service built on top of the Rootstock blockchain. RNS allows users to assign human-readable names to blockchain addresses, making it easier to manage and interact with various resources such as wallet addresses, digital IDs, and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs).
It acts as a digital identity on the blockchain. Multiple wallet addresses, smart contracts, and decentralized applications can be connected to a human-readable RNS alias. Rather than users needing to copy and paste a new address each time they want to send money to the same place, they can just save and interact with one RNS domain name.
How does RNS work?
Let’s say you want to send some money to a retailer’s crypto wallet, but you don’t want to remember their long and complex address. Instead, you can use RNS to give them a human-readable name, like “johndoe.rsk”.
So, you can send money to “johndoe.rsk” instead of sending it to “0x1234567890abcdef…” which is the actual wallet address. This way, you don’t have to worry about making mistakes while typing long addresses, and the retailer can easily receive the money without having to share their long and complex address with you.
In this example, RNS acts as a simple and easy-to-use payment gateway that helps you to send and receive payments on the Ethereum blockchain without worrying about the complexities of long and hard-to-remember addresses.
From a technical perspective, RNS uses a domain-like structure similar to website addresses on the internet. When you register a domain name (alias) on RNS, it gets linked to your blockchain address, giving you full ownership of that domain. You can then use the RNS Manager and applications that have integrated RNS to manage and configure what is associated with your RNS alias.
You can link your RNS alias to multiple public addresses from different networks, use it to create sub-domains, incorporate your own URL, or even transfer ownership to another user if desired. It acts as your digital identifier in the Web3 world — whenever someone wants to interact with you or a resource you’ve provided, they can simply use your RNS name.
What are the benefits of RNS?
Accessibility: RNS streamlines the onboarding process for those new to the blockchain ecosystem. Replacing complex alphanumeric public addresses with simple, easy-to-remember nicknames dramatically simplifies interactions with decentralized products on the blockchain. This opens the technology to a broader audience that otherwise would have been unable or unwilling to utilize it previously.
Increased adoption: The simplified onboarding experience RNS delivers will ultimately lead to greater mainstream adoption. Using a single alias for all Web3 needs is more attractive, functional, and marketable to the general public. Transfers, identification, NFT ownership, and everything associated with an individual/business in the Web3 world is all consolidated under a single, easy-to-remember domain name.
Community and brand building: Having an identifiable alias on a platform enables a more engaging and cohesive experience, helping build brand loyalty and fostering a sense of belonging within the community. Rather than seeing other users and service providers as a jumble of numbers and letters, people see names they can grow familiarity with as they use the platform.
Improved security: By allowing users to have full control over their domain names and the resources associated with them, RNS empowers individuals to manage and control their digital identities. It is the first step in integrating a self-sovereign identity (SSI) protocol into your product and giving users a secure way to access DeFi protocols without the risk of data breaches or identity fraud.
Additionally, RNS is built using smart contracts on the Rootstock blockchain — a sidechain to Bitcoin. So all RNS domain names are backed by the security and reliability of Bitcoin itself.
Get started with RNS
The RIF Naming Service (RNS) streamlines user onboarding and enhances the overall user experience by simplifying complex public keys with easy-to-remember aliases. It is a crucial component to increasing mainstream crypto adoption and making decentralized technologies accessible to all.
Whether you’re an individual looking to simplify your interactions with blockchain resources or a business aiming to provide a seamless onboarding experience for your users, RNS is the most secure, reliable, and accessible tool available. Get started today by registering your domain name at manager.rns.rifos.org and exploring the benefits of RNS for yourself.