Simplifying Crypto Through Address Abstraction

Blockchain is confusing. In fact, for many people, it’s intimidating. In an environment like this, mass adoption is next to impossible. Throw in the fact that Cardano is based on the eUTxO (extended unspent transaction output) model, and things get even more confusing.

Now, how about when I start throwing out words like:

• Seed phrase
• Multi-signature
• Cryptographic hash
• Policy ID

For the initiated, these phrases make sense. But have you ever tried talking about crypto to a family member and realized about 5 words in that you have to start from the beginning?

Yeah. Those are the people we’re trying to onboard.

Simplify Through Abstraction

Blockchain has an extreme usability problem, and it’s caused by a lack of abstraction. Let me explain what I mean:

Software, as we know it today, is made up of layers upon layers of abstraction. This abstraction starts from the lowest level (telling your computer hardware what to do with a bunch of 1’s and 0’s, otherwise known as binary), and rises to the highest level (such as JavaScript).

This abstraction makes entrance into the developer space much more attainable. Imagine having to build a website by only telling your computer hardware what to do and how to do it! Not many could (if any).

At ADA Handle, our mission is to start small and then build from there, higher up the layers of abstraction. So what are we abstracting, specifically?

Cryptographic hashes to readable names.

Now, when I tell my family member that they can send $ADA directly to my handle, $calvin123, are they intimidated? About $ADA, possibly—but not about my handle name.

Upon hearing my name (something they understand), they are immediately expecting a Venmo or Cash App experience. This is the reaction we want: familiarity.

The idea of a username is already embedded in our society, and making the trip to cryptocurrency using a familiar vehicle is going to end a lot better than telling someone they need to learn to fly.

Furthermore, purely building an abstraction on the cryptographic hash allows for immense flexibility. In this scenario, we make no assumptions about the usage of a $handle, other than it being a lookup tool.

For instance, if someone wanted to create a decentralized storage solution, they could integrate $handles as a form of authentication, or as a way to send data to other users, or as a way to improve the UI readability of hashes, or as a way to send money to a smart contract.

$handles can have several use-cases simply by the fact that they make no assumptions about their usage. They are simply token identifiers that increase the usability of a Cardano wallet address.

We are Not a Domain Service

Some people have been asking how we are different from other solutions in the space. Here, we briefly describe why we are purposefully not a domain name service provider, and what some other projects are doing on that front.

Ethereum Naming Service

The typical solution to the naming problem, thus far, has been domain names. This terminology here has unfortunate consequences (we’ll get to that in a second), but the point I want to make is simply that there are existing (or soon-to-be existing) solutions out there.

For instance, ENS is a product built on Ethereum that offers domain resolution to an address. The main idea here is to replicate the DNS registry service we know and use on the web but within the blockchain ecosystem.

Currently, ENS works for Ethereum in the form of registry contracts and utilizes these to resolve domain names. Furthermore, these contracts can point to IPFS hashes (semi-decentralized storage) and tend to work like normal addresses, allowing subdomains to be added, including user management of the domain on a fairly intimate level.

All things considered, ENS is a pretty cool project (despite requiring renewal payments on domains) — however, it’s Ethereum based, and we’re talking about Cardano. I imagine that at some point in the future, ENS will add Cardano support through bridges, but so far this hasn’t been done with any other blockchain — just Layer 2 solutions on Ethereum.

adadomains

adadomains is the most recent, and perhaps the first, to replicate an ENS-like solution on the Cardano blockchain. Domains are denoted with the .ada suffix, and supposedly work and act like ENS domains: users will be able to manage subdomains, minting them at will, as well as use them as pointers to reference hosted websites on platforms like IPFS.

Still, the actual product is bound to the assumption that it works like a domain service. In fact, I’ve seen well-educated people try to search for an adadomain on the web browser, and this is a pitfall inherent to the domain naming convention.

Building an Ecosystem Around $handle

Now, building the first layer is required, and that’s what our beta-sale (coming October 9th) is all about. We have to start at ground zero — after all, we’re at the protocol phase of blockchain. It’s as if everyone was competing to be the next TCP or HTTP protocol. That’s how low-level we are.

Once we establish the standard of $handles, then we can start building abstractions on top of those to better onboard new users. For instance, imagine a wallet that integrates $handles exclusively and provides an opportunity to onboard completely new users with both a wallet and a new $handle at the same time.

Imagine building authentication tools around $handle which allow web3 developers to skip privacy-sacrificing account management and provide users with a “Sign in With $handle” option.

These are all things that ADA Handle is working on in the background, but it starts with the initial foundation of a simple step: readable addresses.