Trading names: aliases & domains
An alias is a short name that resolves to a wallet. A domain account records the on-chain authority allowed to carry a DNS mail domain’s inbound mail. Both on-chain accounts are transferable, never expire, and have no renewal fee, so both can be resold; the seller keeps 90% of each sale. This page maps that market and links to the instructions for each type of sale.
Three ways to sell
A name can leave your hands three ways, depending on whether you have a buyer in mind and how you want price discovery to work:
| You want to… | Use | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Offer a name to whoever pays first, at a set price | The marketplace’s listing form1 | aliases + domains |
| Let buyers bid the price up over a window | Auction (alias sell --auction) | aliases |
| Hand a name to one specific buyer for an agreed fee | Escrowed transfer / domain transfer | aliases + domains |
A listing and an auction name nobody in particular — the market decides who wins. An escrowed transfer is a private, two-party deal: you name the buyer and the price, and only they can take it. All three settle in SOL and take the standard 90/10 split between the seller and the postoffice on the sale proceeds.
What a domain-account sale actually sells
Buying an alias buys a name. Buying a domain account buys protocol authority and its potential revenue stream: the recorded authority may deliver inbound mail and collects that domain’s share of settlements. It does not buy the DNS registration, DNS zone, server, or DKIM keys. Review what a domain sale does and does not convey before paying. The Economics chapter traces what an operating domain authority can earn.
Buying a name
Browsing and buying is the mirror image: the marketplace pane lists every name currently offered, and a click buys one (signed with your own browser or hardware wallet).2 Purchases are public — the buyer, the price, and the transaction are all on-chain (see What’s public and private).
Beyond names: renting your attention
Selling a name is a one-time transfer of an asset you own. If you would rather keep earning from something you don’t give up — your own inbox — that is what campaigns are for: opt into the participant pool and advertisers pay you, message by message, to reach you.
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From the terminal: List for sale (
alias sell --price) / domain sell. ↩ -
From the terminal,
alias buy/domain buytake a name that is currently listed. ↩