How to Unlock your Namecoin Assets in an Emblem Vault

What is Namecoin?

Namecoin is the first Altcoin that released on April 17th, 2011 and is a fork of Bitcoin. It is based of off the Proof-of-Work Consensus Mechanism, is limited to 21 Million coins, and participates in Merged Mining with Bitcoin. Namecoin, originally BitDNS, began as an idea between Gavin Andresen and Bitcoin Creator(s) Satoshi Nakamoto in November 2010 on a BitcoinTalk Forum in an attempt to decentralize various Namespace properties including domains and identities.

The native currency of Namecoin is NMC, operates from the SHA256 mining algorithm, and cuts its rewards every 210,000 blocks (or about 4 years). The current fee to register a record on the blockchain costs .01 NMC and expires every 36,000 blocks (or about 200 days).

The first token registered to BitDNS is “bitcoin.bit” and was registered on April 21st, 2011. Since that first registered domains, various expirments have been registered to the Namecoin blockchain including Domains, Punycodes, Identities. Beginning in 2014 users had the ability to register images to the blockchain via a Dapp known as OneName. Beginning in 2021 NFT Archaeologists and NFT Collectors discovered numerous similar items that were registered at the time and have retroactively curated collections of similar likeness including Twitter Eggs and Blockheads.

Checkout the entire Namecoin NFT timeline here!

What you’ll Need to Purchase Namecoin Assets

Accessing the Namecoin ecosystem is not a simple task. As one of the oldest blockchains in existence the software that will allow you access to the features of Namecoin lack some of the modern properties and UI/UX features you have come to familiarize yourself with in today’s crypto ecosystem. Some of the wallets are limited and a degree of fundamental blockchain understanding will need to be met. Listed below are suggested tools required to access Namecoin natively.

To registed Namecoin Assets you will need:
-Namecoin Wallet (Core or Electrum)
-Namebrow.se (Block Explorer)
-NMC (Native currency)

Now that you have all of the tools, here is a guide that will direct you to community communication channels and resources.
-Namecoin NFT Resource Guide by Jake Gallen
-How to Wrap your .bit Domain by .bit Community
-Namecoin Identities Website by Identities Community
-Trading Namecoin with Emblem Vault by Desktop Commando

Now it’s time to crack the vault. There are a handful of reasons why one may want to bring their Namecoin Assets back to their native chain. Reasonings may include transactional, collateral, or security purposes. Emblem Vault will never discourage one from removing assets from your vault. There are trade-offs that users will sacrifice from a vaulted or unvaulted asset. The power is always in the user’s hands and we will always encourage practicing proper safety and responsible protocols. Cracking the Vault is quite simple, just follow these quick steps!

1) First check to ensure your Namecoin Asset(s) are in the vault.

2) Check to see if any NMC has been sent to your vault.

3) Click on “Claim (Crack Open Vault)” to receive your private keys.

Once that vault has been cracked there will be a few steps between you and your asset’s Mnemoic Phrase and Private Keys.

1) Check to see a displayed green “CLAIMED” at the bottom of the vault. This verifies that the vault has been cracked and you are the owner of the keys.

2) Click on “Get Keys” to view the Vault’s Private Keys and Mnemonic Phrase.

3) This is your Mnemonic Phrase that can be imported into any Namecoin wallet. (Core or Electrum)

4) This is your Private Key that can be imported into any Namecoin wallet. (Core or Electrum)

Once the vault is cracked it will no longer display on your OpenSea account. In order to access the keys you will need open the Dapp Emblem.Finace.

1) Click on “Claimed” to display all cracked vaults.

2) Click on the vault that you wish to attain the private keys for.

If you’d like to import you private keys into your Namecoin Wallet (Core or Electrum) then you’ll need “Import Private Key” in the wallet of your choice.

1) Open up your Namecoin Wallet (this example is Electrum) and click on “New/Restore”.

1) Choose “Standard Wallet”.

2) Click on “Next”.

1) Choose a Name for your new “Wallet”.

2) Click on “Next”.

1) Choose “Use a master key”.

2) Click “Next”.

1) The the Private Key that you copied from your Emblem Vault Namecoin Private Key and paste it in the box.

2) Click on “Next”. (Also ensure there are no extra spaces at the end or the box will be grayed out as in the example above!)

1) Choose a Strong Password for your new Wallet.

2) Click “Next”.

1) Verify your domain has been transferred.

2) Verify the correct amount of NMC has been transferred.

3) Verify the correct amount of names has been transferred.

Congrats you gave successfully brought your Namecoin Assets back to their native chain! From here you have the ability to keep them privately stored or send them to a different wallet.