Namecoin

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Namecoin

Denominations
Plural	namecoins
Symbol	${\displaystyle \mathbb {N} }$[citation needed]
Code	NMC
Subunits
1⁄1000	millinamecoin
1⁄1000000	micronamecoin
1⁄100000000	swartz
Development
Original author(s)	Vincent Durham
Initial release	18 April 2011 (13 years ago) (2011-04-18)[1]
Latest release	0.21.0[2] / 29 January 2021 (3 years ago) (2021-01-29)
Code repository	https://github.com/namecoin/namecoin-core
Development status	Active
Project fork of	Bitcoin
Ledger
Ledger start	17 April 2011 (13 years ago) (2011-04-17)[3]
Timestamping scheme	Proof-of-work (merged mining)[4]
Hash function	SHA-256
Block time	10 minutes[5]
Block explorer	bitinfocharts.com/namecoin/explorer/ chainz.cryptoid.info/nmc/ nmc.tokenview.com
Supply limit	${\displaystyle \mathbb {N} }$21,000,000[5]
Website
Website	www.namecoin.org

Namecoin (Abbreviation: NMC; sign: ${\displaystyle \mathbb {N} }$) is a cryptocurrency originally forked from bitcoin software. It uses proof-of-work algorithm. Like bitcoin, it is limited to 21 million coins.^[5]

Namecoin can store data within its own blockchain transaction database. The original proposal for Namecoin called for Namecoin to insert data into bitcoin's blockchain directly. Anticipating scaling difficulties with this approach, a shared proof-of-work system was proposed to secure new cryptocurrencies with different use cases.

Namecoin's flagship use case is the censorship-resistant top level domain .bit, which is functionally similar to .com or .net domains but is independent of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the main governing body for domain names.^[6] In practice, the top level domain is used by a handful of functional websites. As of 2019, OpenNIC no longer supports the .bit domain.