Revenue streams

Historical record (2020–2026): Namebase was a VC-backed, for-profit company built on the non-profit Handshake movement. This page documents how they generated revenue during their operating years. Namebase ceased operations in June 2026.

While Handshake itself was a community protocol, Namebase was a commercial platform that charged fees for services Namers relied on for most of the ecosystem’s first six years.

Exchange

For much of 2020–2026, Namebase was the most Handshake-focused exchange available. Other platforms listed HNS, but Namebase was the primary onramp for newcomers buying coins with BTC.

Consumer exchange

Namebase operated a Consumer Exchange where users could purchase HNS with BTC. They charged approximately a 5% exchange fee and targeted a 1–3% spread depending on market conditions.

Info HNS was less liquid than BTC, so large orders often experienced slippage beyond the quoted spot price. Namebase recommended splitting large purchases into smaller orders spread over time.

Namebase Pro

Namebase Pro was a traditional order-book exchange (similar to Coinbase Pro) with 0% maker and 2% taker fees. Due to U.S. cryptocurrency regulations, American users could not access Pro for most of its lifespan.

Blockchain transactions

Namebase charged a small transactional fee (approximately 1 HNS) when submitting Handshake blockchain operations on behalf of custodied users, covering mining fees and operational costs.

Mining fees themselves were paid to Handshake miners — not to Namebase.

Bidding

Namebase’s bidding service let non-developers participate in Handshake name auctions through a web UI. They automatically revealed bids during the reveal period — a feature many users depended on to avoid losing lockups. No additional bidding fee was charged beyond the standard transaction fee.

Renewals

Namebase automatically submitted biennial RENEW (heartbeat) transactions for custodied names so owners did not lose domains by forgetting to renew.

Marketplace

The Namebase Marketplace was the dominant secondary market for Handshake TLDs during 2020–2026. Sellers listed names with buy-now prices; Namebase charged a 10% commission collected only on successful sales. Transfers settled on-chain rather than through manual escrow.

Today, secondary trading continues via ShakeDex and Bob Wallet integrations.

Namebase Registry

The Namebase Registry enabled TLD owners to sell second-level domains (SLDs) through an EPP-compatible platform that plugged into traditional domain registrar distribution channels. Namebase charged $1 per registration year for SLDs; the remainder went to the TLD owner.

The registry infrastructure wound down with Namebase in June 2026. Alternatives like Headless Domains and HNS.ID serve overlapping needs today.

HNS.ID

HNS.ID was a Namebase-affiliated service that let TLD owners sell decentralized SLDs as NFTs on the Optimism L2. Namebase allocated 5% of registration fees to a Handshake Development Fund.

HNS.ID continues to operate independently of Namebase.

What replaced these services