aDNS is a names protocol for NFTs. Where ENS gives wallets domains, aDNS gives NFTs labels.

A name in aDNS looks like yoel.normies. The thing that owns that name is not a wallet — it is an NFT you already hold. Bring your own NFT, register a name to it, and the name follows the NFT for the life of the binding.

The one-line model

• Names belong to NFTs, not wallets. Whoever controls the NFT controls the name.
• Bring your own NFT (BYONFT). Any ERC-721, ERC-1155, or ERC-6909 token can own a name.
• Names are real labels. aDNS issues second-level names directly — no sequential numeric IDs.
• Names are themselves ERC-6909 tokens in the aDNS registry, but their owner is always the bound NFT.

Why a names layer for NFTs

NFTs are identity primitives — a collection membership, an agent, a character. But they are addressed by a contract address and a token id, which no human wants to read or share. aDNS gives an NFT a name a person can actually use, and because the name is owned by the NFT, it moves with the NFT automatically. Sell the NFT and the name goes with it. No separate transfer, no stale ownership window.

Read next

• Naming conventions — why yoel.normies reads the way it does.
• The BYONFT model — how an NFT comes to own a name.
• ADNSIP-25 — bi-directional records between name and NFT.
• Integration guide — register and read names from your app.

Under the hood, aDNS names resolve through an ENS-compatible namespace. That apex is an implementation detail, not the product — see The .adns.eth apex.