Theta Name Service (AKA TNS)
Think of TNS as the crypto alternative to DNS (Domain Name Services) on the Internet (DNS was originally proposed via RFC 920 which proposed domain names such as .com, .edu, .gov, etc). DNS is the rendering service that takes public and private addresses and converts them to names and makes them easier for humans to recall. I.E. is it easier to remember 72.163.4.185 or www.cisco.com, another would 159.89.242.16 or publish0x.com?
TNS supports the domain name extension '.theta' for smart contracts which are critical for Web 3.0 success.
TNS addresses are now LIVE - Dang it, I missed the ticker tape parade and all the fan fare. Well, not sure there was any but, the .Theta addressing is LIVE! And of course everyone wants one so.... they are NOT free!
Costs for TNS address - TNS names/addresses are purchased with TFUEL (Yes, that ultra low cost transaction token). Theta has a sliding cost scale for names. The least expensive is 8 characters or more for 100 TFUEL, the 2 character names go for 10,000 TFUEL (See the slide). Theta has not released a cost for the 1 character TNS address - I am thinking punitive in cost$ and no, I won't be seeking a 1 character .theta domain name. As a nice incentive for purchasing a TNS name know there are NO annual renewal fee's unlike in the DNS realm!
Where to purchase TNS names? https://thetaboard.io/domain/search
Other TNS linkages
- Javascript library from Thetaboard can be downloaded and used a nodejs or frontend requirements
- MetaMask extension to connect to Thetaboard (know that you must pay for Metamask gas fees)
TNS Roadmap - Theta was kind enough to release a TNS roadmap that covered such items as:
- Audit of the TNS smart contracts.
- Release to mainnet (currently running on testnet). Have no fear the Edge node still show they are operating in beta.
- Secondary marketplace, including TNS trading.
- Theta wallet integration of TNS for transfers.
Resources
Summary - Theta continues to advance their core and ecosystem technologies, the addition of TNS names brings a higher level of functionality to Theta and smart contracts! You pay once for TNS names and its good for life. Makes sense for smart contracts, I am thinking there are uses in the Metaverse too.
Disclaimer - I am not an employee nor an agent of Theta or Thetalabs, although it sounds super exciting!
