Similar to Coinbase and Binance, Namebase is a custodial wallet. There are not specific private keys for individual wallet addresses, which not only ensures your security but also reduces the time and cost of sending Handshake names and HNS to another Namebase account.

Security: Your funds and names are split across a combination of "cold" and "hot" wallets. "Cold" wallets are very secure and are never connected to the Internet. "Hot" wallets live on our secure servers that broadcast your transactions to the wider internet. The majority of your funds are in cold storage for safety.

Time and cost: Transferring HNS and Handshake names through the blockchain take 20 blocks and 288 blocks (~3.5 hours and 2 days), respectively, and requires mining transaction fees. Transferring HNS and Handshake names to another Namebase account is instantaneous and there are no transaction fees.