Looking to buy a BNS / .btc domain? In this guide, we’ll show you how.
Note: this guide is only useful if you want to buy a name that has already been registered. If you want to register a new one, see How to Register a .btc Name.
In this guide, we’ll be using Gamma to buy a .btc domain name. Gamma is the largest NFT marketplace on the Stacks Network.
How to Buy a .btc Domain on Gamma
Step 1: Sign in to Gamma
Navigate to Gamma and choose Connect wallet -> Stacks. Then log in with your Stacks wallet.
If you don’t already have a Stacks Wallet, we recommend Hiro Wallet for Desktop and Xverse Wallet for iOS or Android. We’ll be using Hiro Wallet on desktop.
Note: Hiro Wallet has rebranded to Leather. This tutorial will still work the same.
You’ll also need to fund your wallet with enough STX tokens to cover the cost of the name you want plus transaction fees (usually less than 0.5 STX).
STX can be purchased with many crypto exchanges, including Coinbase and Binance. Currently, the STX price is $2.19.
Step 2: Find the .btc name you want
If you don’t know what name you want or just want to browse names, check out the BNS Collection page and click the “for sale” box under availability.
If you already know which name you want, just search for it and navigate to the listing page.
If the .btc / BNS domain name you want is listed for sale, skip to the next section.
What if the name you want is not for sale?
If the name is not listed for sale, go to the owner’s profile page (click the name / address next to “owned by”) and look for a Twitter account or other contact information in their profile.
From there, DM them on Twitter and make an offer for them to list the name on Gamma. If they list it, the rest of the process will be the same as we have laid out in this tutorial.
If you can’t find out who owns the name, someone in the BNS Community Discord may be able to help you.
Step 3. Buy the name
If the name is listed for sale, make sure you have enough STX and simply click the “Buy Now” button. Keep clicking through until you get the wallet pop up.
Then, you’ll need to confirm the transaction.
Here, we’re buying a name for 2 STX and paying about 0.2 STX in transaction fees.
Step 4: Wait for the buy transaction to confirm
The transaction will typically go through in 10 minutes or less, but it may take longer depending on when the next Bitcoin block is mined and how congested the Stacks Network is.
To monitor the progress, you can open your wallet and click the purchase-name transaction that you just confirmed.
That will take you to the block explorer.
As soon as the transaction status changes from “in mempool” or “pending” to “confirmed,” your BNS domain has been purchased!
If you go back to Gamma and look at the name, you should see that it has changed ownership to you.
It will then show up in your Stacks wallet shortly.
If you’ve followed along, congratulations! That’s all it takes to buy a .btc / BNS domain name!
What can you do with a .btc name?
So now that you have a .btc or other BNS name, what can you actually do with it?
- You can redirect your .btc domain to a website (tutorial only works for .btc, not other BNS domains)
- You can transfer your .btc name to another address
- You can try to sell your .btc name for a higher price
- You can use your .btc name to send and receive Bitcoin or STX with Hiro Wallet
- You can change your Twitter name to show off your new .btc domain name
- Join the BNS Community on Discord
There’s also a growing number of applications that have integrated .btc / BNS names, where you can use your name as an ID.
Conclusion
We hope you have enjoyed learning how to buy a .btc name.
As always, if you have any questions feel free to DM us on Twitter!
We’ll now close with a few frequently asked questions.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
All BNS / .btc domains are bought and sold with STX tokens.
Sometimes the Stacks Network gets congested and slow. Wait a few hours, and the transaction should go through.
