An X1NS domain turns a 44-character address into something you can say out loud. Registering one takes about two minutes and, for most names, costs 4 XNT — roughly $1.30 at today's XNT price. You pay once. There are no renewals, ever.
This is the step-by-step. Our existing X1NS coverage explains how the system works technically and why other protocols build on it; this guide is purely about getting a name registered to your wallet.
Before you start
- An X1 wallet with XNT in it. Backpack is the standard choice — see our wallet setup guide if you do not have one yet. Five XNT covers a standard name plus fees comfortably.
- A name in mind, plus two fallbacks. With 2,886 domains already registered, the obvious single words in the popular namespaces are largely gone.
That is the whole prerequisite list. There is no application, no waitlist and no KYC.
Step 1 — Check the name is free before you connect anything
You do not need a wallet to check availability, and checking first saves you connecting for nothing. The public API answers directly in a browser tab:
https://api.x1ns.xyz/api/available/yourname.x1A free name returns "available": true. A taken one returns false along with the current owner. You can check the price the same way — https://api.x1ns.xyz/api/price/yourname returns the cost for that name length before you commit to anything.
Or simply use the search box on x1ns.xyz, which does the same lookup with a nicer interface.
Step 2 — Pick your namespace
X1NS runs three top-level domains simultaneously. All three are live on mainnet, all three cost exactly the same, and all three have identical technical capabilities. The difference is positioning, not function. Current registrations as of September 10, 2026:
| TLD | Positioning | Registered |
|---|---|---|
| .x1 | Premium namespace — shares its name with the chain, reads as the default | 1,977 |
| .xnt | Native — named for X1's token | 695 |
| .xen | Community — the XEN Crypto heritage namespace | 214 |
| Total | 2,886 | |
That total was 2,825 in early August, so the namespace is growing at roughly 60 registrations a month. If your name is available in more than one TLD and you intend to use it as your public identity, .x1 is the one people will assume.
Step 3 — Understand what you are about to pay
Pricing is set purely by character length. It is aggressive at the short end, which is the standard scarcity curve for any namespace.
| Length | Price | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 character | 80 XNT | a.x1 |
| 2 characters | 60 XNT | ab.x1 |
| 3 characters | 40 XNT | abc.x1 |
| 4 characters | 12 XNT | abcd.x1 |
| 5+ characters | 4 XNT | alice.x1 |
Five characters and up is a flat 4 XNT no matter how long the name gets, so alice.x1 and averylongusername.x1 cost the same. Names accept a–z, 0–9 and internal hyphens.
One quirk worth knowing: length is counted in graphemes, not bytes. A compound emoji is several Unicode code points but counts as a single character — so it prices as an 80 XNT one-character premium name. International scripts are supported on the same basis.
Step 4 — Connect and register
- Go to x1ns.xyz and click Select Wallet.
- Approve the connection in your wallet. This is a read-only connection — it does not authorise any spending on its own.
- Type your name into the search field and press enter.
- If it is available, confirm the TLD and the quoted price, then register.
- Approve the transaction in your wallet. The fee shown includes the registration cost plus rent exemption.
The transaction settles in about a second. X1 fees are negligible, but they are not zero — keep a small XNT balance beyond the registration price.
Step 5 — Set it as your primary domain
This is the step most people skip, and it is the one that makes the name actually do anything.
Registering a name creates forward resolution: alice.x1 points to your address, so people can send to the name. Setting it as your primary domain creates the reverse mapping — your address resolves back to alice.x1. That reverse record is what lets a dApp display your name where it would otherwise print a truncated address.
Without it, applications that show X1NS names will still show your raw address. Set the primary domain from My Domains after registering. It costs a fraction of a cent.
What you actually get
A registration is more than a pointer. The on-chain record carries:
- Forward resolution — the name resolves to your X1 address.
- Reverse resolution — your address resolves back to your primary name.
- Multi-chain records — one domain can store X1, Solana, Ethereum and Bitcoin addresses.
- A profile — X handle, Discord and website, readable by any application.
- Unlimited subdomains —
pay.alice.x1,team.alice.x1, at around 0.002 XNT each. - Optional NFT tokenization — mint the domain as an NFT (~0.01 XNT) to trade it in standard NFT venues.
The property that matters most: X1NS domains are permanent. Registration is a one-time payment that includes rent exemption. There is no expiry, no grace period and no way to lose a name by forgetting to renew — which is exactly the failure mode that makes expiry-based registries risky to build an identity on. If you want out, a non-tokenized domain can be deleted to reclaim its rent.
The secondary market
A marketplace has formed on top of registrations. Listings have included superman.x1 at 7,400 XNT and 999club.x1 at 5,000 XNT — three-digit-club and single-word names trading at large multiples of their 4-to-80 XNT registration cost.
Treat that as context rather than a plan. Listing prices are asks, not sales, and a namespace with under 3,000 total registrations is thin enough that a handful of trades sets the visible price. Register a name because you want to use it.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a .x1 domain cost?
4 XNT for any name of five characters or more. Shorter names cost more: 12 XNT for four characters, 40 for three, 60 for two, 80 for one.
Do I have to renew my X1NS domain?
No. Registration is permanent and one-time. There are no renewal fees and no expiry date.
What is the difference between .x1, .xnt and .xen?
Nothing technical — identical pricing and identical capabilities. .x1 is the flagship and holds about two-thirds of registrations, .xnt is the token-named namespace, .xen serves the XEN Crypto community.
Can I register a domain with emoji?
Yes. Length is counted in graphemes, so a compound emoji counts as one character and prices as a one-character premium name at 80 XNT.
Why does my name not show up in apps?
You probably have not set it as your primary domain. Forward resolution works from registration; reverse resolution — the part apps display — requires setting the primary record.
Can I sell my domain later?
Yes, via the X1NS marketplace, or by tokenizing it as an NFT and trading it in standard NFT venues.
Prices and registration counts read from the live X1NS pricing endpoint and site on September 10, 2026. Nothing here is financial advice — domain resale values are speculative and the market is small.
Already registered? See how to look up any .x1 domain — resolution, reverse lookup and the public API.