Overview
ADA Handle is a naming service that replaces long Cardano wallet addresses with short, readable names that start with a dollar sign, for example $alice or $adastack. It's the same idea as registering a domain name for an email address, but for crypto payments. Whoever holds the name controls where payments to it land, and the name itself can be sent between wallets like any other token1.
The service is built and maintained by Kora Labs. Each Handle is an NFT (a unique digital token) under a single Cardano collection that anyone can verify. Wallets can check who owns a Handle by reading Cardano directly, so there's no central company that has to be running for the name to keep working1.
Key Features
- One name instead of a long address. Instead of asking someone to copy a 100-character wallet address, you give them your Handle. Whoever the Handle currently belongs to is who receives any payment sent to that name1.
- Names for teams and apps. A Handle owner can create sub-names underneath their main one (for example, $treasury@acme, where acme is the main name and treasury is a sub-name). These come in two flavors: standalone sub-names that can be transferred like a regular Handle, and lightweight sub-names that the main owner can create or revoke at will1.
- Audited minting code. The smart contracts that mint Handles, called DeMi, were reviewed in a published audit by Eric Lee and Jesse Anderson, with the full report hosted on Kora Labs' documentation site2.
- Login and chat tied to your Handle. HandleAuth lets you sign in to supporting websites using your Handle instead of a password. HandleChat lets two Handle owners send encrypted one-to-one messages in supported Cardano wallets1.
- A marketplace and personalization tools. Kora Labs runs its own marketplace, H.A.L., where Handles can be traded, rented, or customized with backgrounds and links to addresses on other chains1.
What to Expect
Using ADA Handle starts with picking up a name. You can mint a fresh one at mint.handle.me or buy an existing one on H.A.L., the in-house marketplace Kora Labs runs at hal.handle.me. Once the Handle sits in a supported wallet, any service that recognizes Handles can accept the name in place of a full address. If you send the Handle to a different wallet, the payment routing follows it.
Support for Handles is broad across Cardano wallets. The Cardano Foundation also maintains an open-source resolver, which lets infrastructure operators look up Handles using the Yaci Store indexer3. Beyond the basics, owners can personalize how their Handle displays in supporting wallets, set links to addresses on other chains, and create sub-names to organize teams or apps. Cardano governance participants can also mint DRep Handles, which pair a recognizable name to a delegated representative role on Cardano.
