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SubHandles operate and function identically to Handles. They were designed to allow individuals, companies, dApps, and everyone else repeated use of a Handle (or root Handle in this case) associated with a name or brand. For example, if a company owned the root Handle $acme and wished to use it for payments or company information, they could mint the SubHandles $info@acme and $treasury@acme.
In day-to-day usage, SubHandles follow a standard flow: configure settings, mint or assign, and then manage updates or revocations as needed.
| Feature | NFT SubHandle | Virtual SubHandle |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership | Wallet holder owns it | Root handle owner controls it |
| Revocable by root owner | No | Yes |
| Transferability | Transferable like NFTs | Not transferable as an NFT |
| Expiration | No annual renewal required | Requires renewal |
The company ACME could now use $treasury@acme for any payment-related needs without the direct use of the company's root Handle. Before the creation of SubHandles, some root Handle owners would mint new root Handles to fulfill the same purpose, for example, $treasury-acme. Unfortunately, these were subject to spoofing and created security risks. A person could easily mint $treasury_acme and pretend to be the company ACME.
SubHandles have two primary types - NFT SubHandles and Virtual SubHandles. NFT SubHandles work just like regular root Handles. They are an NFT that is sent to the address it should resolve to. It works just like any NFT on Cardano.
NFT SubHandles are almost identical to Handles; they are NFT-based assets, minted on the CIP-68 datum, and they resolve to the wallet address they are sent to. Whoever holds the NFT SubHandle is the owner, and the owner of the root Handle cannot access, edit, or revoke it.
SubHandles can be personalized the same as Handles as long as the root Handle owner has the setting enabled. Unlike Virtual SubHandles, NFT-based SubHandles are owned by the holder of the wallet they reside in and resolve directly to that address.
NFT SubHandles allow users to manage multiple wallets while under the same root Handle. Where Virtual SubHandles are useful for managing employees or temporary assets, NFT SubHandles have no expiration date and can be used to operate multiple wallets. If a user has multiple wallets, they can mint a SubHandle for each wallet, allowing for ease of use instead of needing to remember or mint new root handles for each wallet.
NFT SubHandles are minted the same as Handles through the admin minting portal, or if the root Handle enabled OAuth minting and added the minting interface to their portal, then they can also be minted publicly.
Note:
Transferring ownership/control of an NFT SubHandle to someone else means they now own it and the owner of the root Handle can no longer control or access it.
There is no limit to the number of SubHandles that can be minted from a root Handle. Provided that the SubHandle has not been previously minted, you’ll be able to mint them. We are also improving the minting portal so that you can check out with multiple SubHandles in a single transaction, pay for them with a single transaction, and receive them all in a bundle.
NFT-based SubHandles can be listed on marketplaces, exactly as you would when listing a root Handle. Virtual SubHandles, given that they won’t exist in the NFT format, will not be immediately available on marketplaces but one could sell them in a peer-to-peer format. In the near future, we will also have an API dedicated to minting SubHandles so the owner of $acme could create a dedicated solution to sell its SubHandles to the community.
Virtual SubHandles, on the other hand, are associated with unique Smart Contracts. These Smart Contracts are set up in such a way that only the root Handle owner will have permission to make changes to Virtual SubHandles.
Virtual SubHandles always remain under the ownership of the root Handle owner. The ownership cannot be transferred to someone else, but it can be set to resolve to any address. The root Handle owner can revoke and change the address of a Virtual SubHandle.
Note:
Virtual SubHandles expire each year and must be renewed.
While NFT SubHandles ownership can be transferred, Virtual SubHandles remain under the ownership of the root Handle owner. This means that the root Handle owner can, at any time, revoke the association of SubHandles from wallets. Therefore, in the event that a team member were to leave the organization or in the event that a wallet were to get compromised, the root Handle owner could either assign a new wallet to the SubHandle in question or revoke it entirely. Because the SubHandle only existed in a virtual format, it would immediately cease to exist.
Warning:
Virtual SubHandles, if privately-minted, will remain in control of the root Handle owner. If publicly-minted, the root Handle owner will not be able to revoke it until the Virtual SubHandle expires.
You can mint SubHandles in two ways, if you are the owner or if the owner authorized Handle.me to mint on their behalf. For a more in-depth explanation and how-to of the minting process, please refer to the Minting SubHandles documentation.
You can mint both NFT and Virtual SubHandles for the same root Handle. Provided that at the time of minting the SubHandle name is available, the owner of a root Handle can issue it in the NFT or Virtual formats. For example, $john@acme can be created as a Virtual SubHandle and concurrently $treasury@acme can be an NFT-based SubHandle.
Note:
While NFT and Virtual SubHandles can both exist on the same root Handle, the same SubHandle cannot exist in both formats. You cannot mint $john@acme as an NFT SubHandle and then mint it as a Virtual SubHandle.
The datum for a Virtual Handle is stored on the blockchain in a smart contract. If a root Handle owner has assigned you a Virtual SubHandle you can scan for that contract address, or you can visit the handle.me website, after you connect your wallet, the "Choose your Handle" dropdown in the top right will show all Handles and SubHandles that are in your wallet, or assigned to you. Virtual SubHandles will have a visual tag so you are aware that it is there.
Important:
This feature is not yet available!
In the event that the root Handle owner decides to convert an NFT-based SubHandle to a Virtual SubHandle, they will also have the option to "burn" the NFT-based SubHandle and re-mint it in the Virtual format. The same applies to Virtual SubHandles being converted to NFT-based SubHandles.
Warning:
This action can only be performed if the root Handle owner is the current holder of the SubHandle they want to "burn".
You can personalize a SubHandle the same as you would a root Handle as long as the owner has not disabled that feature for their SubHandles. While the root Handle owner can revoke it at any time, if the owner of a SubHandle personalized it while personalization was enabled then they will be able to keep that personalization.