1. What is HNS?

Introduction to HNS Tokens

Handshake (HNS) is a decentralized domain name protocol that is compatible with DNS (Domain Name System). It focuses on the registration, verification, trading, and resolution of top-level domains (TLDs). Users can bid for TLDs on Namebase using HNS and earn tokens when registering subdomains under that domain.

Main Features:

1. Decentralized Internet Infrastructure: HNS aims to create a foundational layer for a decentralized internet, ensuring secure naming and user agents communicate with the correct endpoints.
2. Minimized Global Consensus: HNS achieves full global protocol through software with minimal domains, ensuring decentralization.
3. True Decentralization: There is no official single foundation, committee, company, or entity that permanently controls the protocol.
4. Economic Incentives: HNS creates economic incentives through a transparent naming auction process, preventing centralization and corruption.
5. Farmable and Mineable: HNS can be farmed and mined and used for bidding on top-level domains; the HNS used to bid on domains is directly burned.

Investment Background:

HNS has been invested in by top VCs such as Redpoint, A16z Crypto, Founders Fund, Polychain Capital, Draper Associates, and individual investors like Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam and Bitcoin Jesus Roger Ver. The HNS mainnet is live, and the $10.2 million raised has been entirely donated to the community, with an additional 70% of the tokens airdropped to 170,000 developers in the open-source GitHub community.

2. Who founded HNS?

Handshake (HNS) Tokens were co-founded by Joseph Poon (founder of the Bitcoin Lightning Network), Andrew Lee (CEO of Purse), and Christopher Jeffrey (CTO of Purse).

3. Which venture capital firms invested in HNS?

According to the provided information, the following top venture capital (VC) firms have invested in HNS Tokens (Handshake):

1. A16z Crypto: The tokens investment arm of Andreessen Horowitz.
2. Founders Fund: A well-known venture capital firm.
3. Polychain Capital: A venture capital firm focused on tokens and blockchain investments.
4. Draper Associates: A venture capital firm founded by Tim Draper.
5. Redpoint: A venture capital firm.

Additionally, there are individual investors like Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam and Bitcoin investor Roger Ver.

4. How does HNS work?

How HNS Tokens (Handshake) work:

1. Decentralized Domain System: Handshake is a decentralized domain system designed to replace the traditional DNS (Domain Name System).

2. Bidding and Registration: Users bid for top-level domains (TLDs) on Namebase using HNS and can register subdomains to earn tokens.

3. Economic Incentives: HNS's value is enhanced through the auction process. Miners receive HNS as rewards for maintaining the network, which can be sold on the market.

4. Deflationary Mechanism: A deflationary scenario occurs when the amount of HNS burned each day from auctioning domains exceeds the amount of HNS produced through farming and mining.

5. Blockchain Base: Handshake is based on a UTXO blockchain and uses proof of work (PoW) to ensure network security.

6. Token Distribution: The Handshake project plans to allocate about 70% of the token supply to open-source developers, projects, and non-profits.

7. Decentralization and Security: Handshake aims to create a decentralized system that ensures security and reliability through economic incentives and blockchain technology.

In summary, HNS Tokens operate through mechanisms such as a decentralized domain system, bidding and registration, economic incentives, deflationary mechanisms, blockchain base, token distribution, and decentralized security.