Gini Name System (GNS)

NOTE: The GNS has been retired and replaced with the GiniConnect Protocol. Please refer to that article for the most secure and user-friendly way to connect and transfer payments between your trusted counterparties.

We have preserved this GNS article here as an educational tool for stakeholders for the following reason: In the future, we expect other cryptocurrency teams to announce "simple cryptocurrencies" to make them more appealing to the masses. However, we can already see many teams building their systems on insecure protocols that have insecure dependencies on email and phone systems. That means their cryptocurrencies will be fundamentally insecure for the reasons explained in the GiniConnect article at the link above. By familiarizing yourself with the sub-optimal crypto mapping approach embodied by the retired GNS, you should be able to avoid being bitten by the inevitable hacks that other systems will suffer from in the months and years to come.

OLD GNS ARTICLE STARTS HERE

In addition to sending payments to standard Gini payment addresses (e.g., gni_9w89dr…), Gini stakeholders can easily and securely send Gini currency to your email address, phone number or short custom Gini name (e.g. "bob$gini" or "myAnonymousName$gini"). We call this system the Gini Name System (GNS) because it works similarly to the Domain Name System (DNS) for website domains, but GNS is fully encrypted, anonymous and does not depend on DNS. That means GNS is faster, more secure and provides much greater privacy than DNS.

Simple Payment Channels

Within the GNS, a “Simple Payment Channel” (SPC) can be any human-readable contact channel that is unique to you and that other people can use to send you messages. For example, an email address, phone number or custom Gini name (e.g. "lisa$gini" or "myAnonymousName$gini"). SPCs are simply email addresses, phone numbers or custom Gini names, but collectively we call them “SPCs” so that we don’t need to frequently repeat “email address, phone number or custom Gini name” throughout our documentation.

Receiving Gini Currency at Your SPC

Before you can receive Gini currency at your SPC, the SPC must be linked to one of your Gini deposit accounts. This process is very easy and takes only two clicks from within your Gini Account Center. To link an SPC to your Gini account, simply enter the SPC into your Gini Account Center and select one of your Gini accounts as the deposit account. Your selected Gini deposit account will then receive any payments that are sent to your SPC.

For example,  let’s say your friend Lisa’s SPC is an email address: [email protected]. From her Gini Account Center, Lisa simply enters “[email protected]” and then selects her Gini account named “Lisa’s Gini Account” from the drop-down list in her Gini Account Center. After she clicks "submit", the Gini software automatically generates a new payment address for that account, links it to her email address, and updates the global GNS. That’s it! Now, whenever somebody sends Gini currency to [email protected] from within their own Gini Account Center, it will go straight to Lisa’s Gini deposit account that she linked to her email address (SPC).

Reserved Custom Gini Names

Gini stakeholders can reserve their custom Gini names (e.g., “lisa$gini”) from the GiniFoundation.org website just like they can reserve email addresses and vanity phone numbers from email and phone providers. To avoid scammers and hackers, make sure you reserve your custom Gini names from the official Custom Gini Names page.

Simple Payment Channel (SPC) Validation

Email Address Validation. If you want to receive Gini currency at your email address (SPC), you can follow the same process described in the “Lisa example” above. The Gini software will send you a one-time email confirmation, which you must confirm before payments can be sent to your email address (SPC). This ensures that you don’t accidentally enter the wrong address, which could prevent payments from reaching you. After you confirm the email, anybody can immediately send you Gini currency to your email address and it will be automatically deposited into your Gini currency account.

Email Privacy. Gini does not store stakeholder email addresses in any human-readable format. All data is encrypted and nobody—not even Gini staff—can read it. So, your privacy is protected.

Updating Your Email Address. You can update your email address (SPC) any time by simply editing it in your Gini Account Center.

Phone Number Validation. If you want to receive Gini currency at your phone number (SPC), you can follow the same process described in the “Lisa example” above, but instead of entering an email address, enter your phone number. The Gini software will send you a one-time code to your phone. This ensures that you don’t accidentally enter the wrong phone number, which could prevent payments from reaching you. After you confirm the code, anybody can immediately send you Gini currency to your phone number and it will be automatically deposited into your Gini currency account.

Phone Number Privacy. Gini does not store phone numbers in any human-readable format. All data is encrypted and nobody—not even Gini staff—can read it. So, your privacy is protected.

Updating Your Phone Number. You can update your phone number (SPC) any time by simply editing it in your Gini Account Center.