> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://hub.bsvblockchain.org/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://hub.bsvblockchain.org/wiki/economics-and-payments/payments-in-bitcoin/bsvalias.md).

# BSVAlias

BSVAlias is a family of related standard protocols that enable the use of email style addresses for Bitcoin SV. Services that implement these protocols can be run by a domain owner or through a third party. The goals of BSVAlias are:

* User friendly payments
* Permissionless implementation
* Self hosting
* Automatic discovery process
* PKI infrastructure (IPV4)
* Security
* Extensibility Paymail leverages BSVAlias into a set of protocols that allows BSV wallets to receive payments using email addresses as handles. The protocols allow for flexibility in capabilities and implementation.

1. Service Discovery The Service Discovery Process is split into two phases: #Host Discovery #Capability Discovery
2. Host Discovery Host Discovery is a DNS based lookup of the responsible host for a given BSVAlias. One practical implementation that exists today is Paymail, in which the host is identified through the domain attached to the receiving party's paymail address, which is in standard email format (e.g. <user@domain.tld>). BSVAlias can be: #Self hosted #Hosted using 3rd party providers (done using a DNS SRV record) This makes BSVAlias compatible with the internet infrastructure we have today.
3. Capability Discovery Once the host has been identified, the sending party must learn its supported features. This is in the format of a machine readable (JSON) document which is placed on the host web server in the .well-known folder: https\://:/.well-known/bsvalias Capabilities of a host are not necessarily reflected in an individual account.
4. References
5. [BSVAlias specification](https://github.com/bitcoin-sv-specs/brfc-paymail)


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