Blockchain Name Service

A blockchain name service maps a short human-readable name to an address, so that a payment can be directed at a name instead of a long string of characters. Resolution runs through a registry contract on a particular chain, and the wallet performs a lookup at the moment of sending. Three properties matter more than the convenience. A name points to whatever address its current holder has configured, so what it resolved to previously is no guarantee about now, and a name can be sold or transferred like any other asset. Registrations in most systems expire and become available to someone else after they lapse, which turns an old saved name into a live risk rather than a dead link. And names on different services or different chains occupy separate namespaces, so holding a name in one system reserves nothing in another. Wallets differ in which services they resolve at all.