aDNS does not mint a new token to hold your name. The owner of every aDNS name is an NFT you already control. This is the BYONFT model: Bring Your Own NFT.
How binding works
When you register, you point the aDNS registrar at a token you control:
- a chain id — where the NFT lives,
- a contract address — the NFT collection, and
- a token id — the specific token.
The registrar binds the new name to that (chain, contract, tokenId) triple. From then
on, control of the name is exactly control of the NFT.
Supported token standards
| Standard | Control rule |
|---|---|
| ERC-721 | ownerOf(tokenId) is the controller. |
| ERC-1155 | any account with balanceOf(account, tokenId) > 0. |
| ERC-6909 | any account with balanceOf(account, tokenId) > 0. |
For single-owner NFTs (ERC-721) control is unambiguous. For multi-token standards (ERC-1155, ERC-6909) any holder of the bound id qualifies, so shared control is preserved rather than flattened into a synthetic single owner.
v1 status: the deployed registrar proves control for ERC-721 same-chain NFTs only. The ERC-1155 and ERC-6909 control proofs above describe the target model; their on-chain verification is on the contracts roadmap (see ADNSIP-25). The registration widget binds ERC-721 NFTs today and surfaces this limit inline for others.
The name follows the NFT
Because the name is owned by the NFT and not by a wallet:
- Transfer the NFT → the name moves with it. No separate name transfer.
- Sell the NFT → the buyer controls the name. No window where the seller still holds it.
- Lose access to the NFT → you lose the name. Custody of the name is custody of the NFT.
The name is a property of the NFT. If you want the name to be durable, hold it with a durable NFT — a vaulted token, a multisig-held NFT, or a token you do not intend to sell.
Names are ERC-6909 tokens
Each aDNS name is itself an ERC-6909 multi-token id in the aDNS registry. That is how the registry tracks issuance and uniqueness. But the owner slot for each name id always resolves to the bound NFT — the ERC-6909 id is the name, the NFT is the owner.