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HandyCon 2023

Coverage of HandyCon 2023 Event

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HandyCon 2023 Recap: A Deep Dive into Handshake’s Conference

HandyCon 2023, the 3rd annual Handshake Conference, took place from March 8th to March 10th completely online via the Airmeet platform. This year, the core of the conference focused on the following core components: Positive, Align, and Build.

Why HandyCon Stands Out

Conference Highlights

Decentralized Domains: A Necessity

Mike Carson from Impervious highlighted the indispensable need for decentralized domains, using Sci-hub as a case study to underline their significance.

Market Dynamics and Security Concerns

The declining value of $HNS and its impact on domain valuation was a hot topic. Is this temporary or are we going to zero? There have also been security discussions centered around the Handshake Hash Rate and the theoretical risk of a 51% attack.

Expanding the HNS Ecosystem

There are new integrations with Cosmos, Stargaze (.stars), and Nouns Name Service (NNS), showcasing a growing ecosystem. However, we still need more HNS adoption

Innovative Use Cases

The introduction of a WordPress plugin for HNS payments (app.monapay.com) and Nathan Woodburn’s HNS-Server codebase for website deployment on Handshake underscored the protocol’s versatility. It is important to emphasize that we still need more HNS use cases

Integration Aspirations

The community is still waitinf for seamless browser and wallet integrations to streamline user experiences. Superlink’s ongoing efforts in this direction are particularly noteworthy and hopefully they can share more with us soon

Emerging from stealth mode, Superlink promises to significantly impact digital identity management.

Cross-Chain Name Services

Proposals for cross-chain Fully Qualified Names (FQNs) suggest a future where wallets and services natively support multiple naming protocols, enhancing interoperability.

Example:

     [name]  @ [chain name] . [ name service]
    santiago @   cosmo      .  icns
                 starts        sns
                 dydx
                 sei

Exchange Listings: A Waiting Game

The community is eager for major exchanges like Coinbase and Binance to list Handshake, enhancing liquidity and accessibility. It is still a pain to buy $HNS

GoDaddy’s Jump into Payable Domains

Discussions around GoDaddy’s new initiative called “Payable Domains” and its potential implications for the domain industry. Will GoDaddy join Handshake in 2023? Only time will tell

The Branding Potential of TLDs

The conference explored how top-level domains (TLDs) could evolve into unique brands, offering distinct identities for products and services. The future will be about building a “brand” with every high quality tld being its own brand (like .universe/, .tx/, or .lgit/).

Handshake’s B2B Potential

Agaamin Technologies’ presentation shed light on Handshake’s applicability in B2B contexts, distinguishing it from traditional end-user products. Handshake was presented as a “B2B sell” and not necessarily as a end user product. Two models were presented:

Model 1: Legacy Internet vs Handshake

Model 1

Model 2: Domains vs Usernames Comparison

Model 2

The distinction between generic and individual digital identities was a key discussion point, emphasizing the personalization potential of Handshake domains. Example: santiago.d (Generic Identity) vs santiago.lastname (Individual Identity)

Updates from Namebase

Namebase’s updates, including bulk search enhancements and upcoming HNS.id (.hns and other SLDs), were met with enthusiasm, pointing to a user-friendly future.

Chat with the Founders

Handshake’s founders reaffirmed the protocol’s role in fostering a more open and resilient internet, emphasizing its use as domain names and digital identity

Engaging Community Giveaways

The conference featured exciting giveaways from Bitmain and Goldshell, adding a fun and engaging element to the proceedings.

The Flamingo Auction

The auction for the .n/ domain was a highlight, with intense bidding wars culminating in a significant acquisition. There were multiple high bids at the beginning with only two key players at the end: “Where’s .coin” and Jehan Chu with “Where’s .coin” taking the winning bid with 3M in $HNS. I speculate that Namecheap took the win.

Personal Reflections

As an enthusiast, HandyCon reignites my optimism for Handshake’s potential. Participating in the conference led me to acquire a couple of more HNS names, doubling down my belief in the protocol’s long-term viability.

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