What is INS: INS (InterLink Name Service) is the decentralized naming protocol built specifically for the InterLink ecosystem.

Core Purpose: It simplifies the Web3 experience by transforming lengthy, unreadable hexadecimal wallet addresses into intuitive, human-readable identifiers ending in .itl (e.g., alice.itl or bob.itl).

Ecosystem Role: INS acts as the primary identity and routing layer across the InterLink network, allowing users and decentralized applications (dApps) to interact securely without relying on raw cryptographic strings.

Registration & The ITL Address Record: INS domains are leased for a specific duration. Upon successfully registering a name, the system automatically configures the ITL Address Record to point to your current registering wallet. This means the name is immediately functional and ready to route funds. You only need to manually update this record within the Resolver if you wish to change the receiving destination to a different InterLink wallet address.

Roles & Permissions (Owner vs. Manager): To provide maximum security, INS separates the ownership of a name from its day-to-day management.

• The Owner: The wallet that holds the ultimate rights to the domain. The Owner can transfer the name to another person, renew the lease, and assign the Manager.
• The Manager: The wallet authorized to update the domain's records (e.g., changing the ITL Address Record or creating subnames). By default, the Owner is also the Manager. However, for security, users can separate these roles (e.g., keeping the Owner role in a secure wallet while using another wallet as the Manager).

Renewal & Grace Period: Users must extend their lease before the expiration date to maintain ownership. If a domain expires, it enters a Grace Period (90 days). During this window, the name remains fully functional and continues to resolve to the configured address. While no one else can register or steal the name during this period, anyone can still step in and pay to renew it on behalf of the original Owner.

Post-Expiration & Premium Fee: If the Grace Period ends without a renewal, the name is released for public registration. However, the name will continue to resolve to the old address until a new owner registers it and explicitly overwrites the records. To prevent sniper bots from instantly snatching high-value names upon release, a Premium Fee is applied. This is a temporary, exponentially decaying surcharge that starts very high and gradually decreases to the standard base price over a set number of days (21 days).

Smart Contract Architecture: The protocol is governed by two main components:

• The Registry: The master ledger tracking the Owner, Manager, lease status, and expiration of every domain.
• The Resolver: The execution engine that translates the .itl name into the configured ITL Address Record or actionable data.
• Subnames: Primary domain owners can create subnames (e.g., pay.alice.itl). These subnames are configured as simple registry records controlled by the parent domain Manager.

Situation: Alice wants to receive funds from Bob and securely manage her Web3 identity on the InterLink network.

Phase 1: Renting the Name & Setting Records

1. Alice navigates to the INS portal and searches for alice.itl.
2. Seeing it is available, she rents it for a 1-year duration, paying the required registration fee.
3. She accesses the domain's management dashboard and explicitly sets her ITL Address Record, mapping alice.itl to her primary InterLink receiving wallet.

Phase 2: Utilizing the Name

1. Bob wants to send ITL tokens to Alice. Instead of asking for a long hexadecimal address, Alice simply tells him to send the funds to alice.itl.
2. Bob types alice.itl into his wallet. The INS Resolver instantly fetches Alice's configured ITL Address Record, allowing Bob to confirm the transaction safely and without friction.

Phase 3: Advanced Security (Role Separation)

1. As Alice's identity grows in value, she wants to protect it from hackers. She transfers the Owner role of alice.itl to another wallet.
2. However, she assigns her commonly used wallet as the Manager.
3. This allows Alice to conveniently update her ITL Address Record or create subnames.

Phase 4: The Expiration Lifecycle (Grace Period & Overwriting)

1. A year later, Alice's lease expires and alice.itl enters the Grace Period. Bob can still successfully send tokens to alice.itl because the on-chain records remain intact.
2. Alice is away on vacation and cannot access her wallet. Knowing this, Bob simply goes to the INS portal and pays the renewal fee for alice.itl. The lease is extended, and Alice retains full ownership safely without needing to do anything.
3. Alternative Outcome: If Alice completely abandons the name and the Grace Period ends, alice.itl is released. A new user, Charlie, waits for the Premium Fee to drop and registers it. Upon registration, the system automatically clears Alice's old data and sets the ITL Address Record directly to Charlie's wallet. alice.itl is now immediately ready to route funds to Charlie without any additional setup.