NB Registry launch announcement

Get excited Namers, the NB Registry will be launching soon!

The launch timeline will be as follows: NB Registry will be aiming to launch within 2 weeks; soon following the registry launch, we'll onboard our Namer Community Directors to help beta test the registry; once we've implemented the feedback from our beta test, the registry will be ready to accept submissions for Namers who want to stake their names.

Our first attempt at being a registry was back in April of 2021 when we outsourced our registry’s backend operations to a third party. We've received your feedback that there were less than great features and we discovered many areas that needed improvement. Thankfully, due to Namecheap's recent involvement with Namebase, we're greatly benefiting from their decades of experience operating the 2nd largest registrar in the world, which in turn means you'll experience great benefits as well.

With that said, we (Namebase) have partnered with the NB Registry, a Namecheap company, to enable our TLD owners to stake their TLDs. With the NB Registry, you’ll enjoy the same quality and customer service that Namecheap is known for, and TLD stakers will be able to sell SLDs directly on namecheap.com!

Some specific features you’ll see from the NB Registry will include:

• The same tools and dashboards ICANN TLD owners have.

• SLDs can be reserved

• Custom SLD pricing (premium domains)

  • SLDs can be “gifted” (you can set the SLD’s price to a minimum of $1)

• Root domain can be used (coming soon!)

Previously you had to email support to adjust your SLD pricing. This is no longer the case, and you will be able to do so without any intervention from our end.

Not every TLD will be listed and Registrars do have a screening process. For example, a name such as “.a03n72h/” would most likely not be listed at any registrars. To further ensure quality TLD listings, there will also be a one-time registry staking fee of 1500 HNS per TLD. On the topic of fees, the registry will no longer operate on the old revenue-sharing model (where we took 30% of SLD sales), and instead will charge $1/SLD sale with the rest going straight to the TLD owner.

With the roll-out of NB Registry, you’ll need to agree to their Domain Services Agreement. While most terms are the same, there are some new ones, so you'll want to review it carefully.

If you’re a legacy TLD staker, your TLD(s) will be automatically migrated to the new registry at no cost to you. It might be a lot to take in, but if you think you're ready to commit your TLD to the new NB Registry, be sure to look out for our email, Twitter, and/or Discord announcements for the launch!

Until then, happy naming!