Ethereum Name Service is a blockchain equivalent of the Domain Name System (DNS) that assigns addresses on the internet. ENS translates cumbersome Ethereum addresses containing random numbers and letters into memorable names.
This makes the emerging Web3 ecosystem more accessible and marketable as people and dApps can easily share crypto addresses. Thanks to Ethereum’s market dominance, ENS triggered a rush for top ENS registries, which happened to .com domains in the 1990s.
ENS origin and statistics
Nick Johnson, a former Google software developer from New Zealand, introduced the concept of the ENS in April 2016 under the umbrella of the Ethereum Foundation. In May 2017, ENS was introduced as a top-level domain (TLD). The next year, ENS left the Ethereum Foundation as a separate entity.
FIFA releases Genesis NFTs on the eve of the World Cup
Sports NFTs and ApeCoin Staking are making the news this week
TLD is at the top level of the hierarchy in domains. For example, at www.carinsurance.com, the .com part is the TLD.
ENS first started with native .eth as a TLD and later integrated .xyz, .kred, .luxe, .app, .io and many others.
As of 2017, over 2.3 million ENS names have been created for over 550,000 unique participating addresses. From August 2021 to the peak of ENS enrollment in May 2022, combined monthly ENS earnings increased by 264%.
For names longer than five characters, annual ENS name renewal costs $5, while shorter names are more expensive: four characters – $160/year, three characters – $640/year.
New expiration years can be added at any time, but there is a minimum renewal interval of 28 days.
Since renewal fees are issued by the smart contract registrar, they are not retrievable. Of course, registering a name also involves paying the ETH gas fee as it is a decentralized service running on the Ethereum blockchain.
Although ENS has split from the Ethereum Foundation, it is still supported by it alongside Ethereum Classic Labs, Binance_X, Chainlink and Protocol Labs. Nick Johnson co-chairs the ENS Foundation with Brantly Millegan and Kevin Gaspar.
Johnson also leads the ENS core development team, along with notable contributors such as Chainlink’s Sergei Nazarov, MetaMask’s Dan Finlay, and Ethereum Foundation’s Jason Carver.
How does Ethereum’s name service work?
Running on Ethereum, ENS is a decentralized naming system that converts machine-readable identifiers — addresses, metadata, content hashes — into human-readable names. Let’s take the example of Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum:
- The address of Vitalik Buterin on Etherscan.io is 0xd8dA6BF26964aF9D7eEd9e03E53415D37aA96045
- ENS converts this string to vitalik.ethexpires in 2034.
Looking more closely, we see that vitalik.eth consists of two parts: a registrant and a controller. In both cases we get the same address since Vitalik did not transfer his ownership. The person responsible has the right to edit the entry of the domain. If he wished, Vitalik, as a registry owner, could transfer ownership to a controller in charge of subdomain creation and other day-to-day operations.
ENS manages domain name ownership through two smart contracts. The first is the ENS registry, a database that records and stores domain and subdomain names.
The second ENS smart contract is the resolver. It is responsible for formatting machine-readable addresses into human-readable text, just like DNS converts IP addresses into URL text. In other words, while DNS makes Web2 digestible, ENS makes Web3 digestible.
As the record holder, the ENS registry stores the owner and resolver of the domain. The owner can either be another smart contract or a user with an external account. The registrant is a smart contract that holds ownership of a domain and can issue subdomains. Therefore, domain owners can change subdomain ownership, transfer domain ownership to a different address, or set domain time-to-live (TTL) caching for the domain.
In practice, when requesting vitalik.eth, a request is sent to the domain ownership registrar’s smart contract. The registry then outputs the resolver responsible for the conversion and returns the address it converted.
How do I register an ENS domain?
As with all blockchain-related things, you need a non-custodial crypto wallet. Although MetaMask is the most popular, ENS also supports web browsers with built-in wallets like Brave and Opera. In total, the blockchain domain service supports 60 wallets.
Once installed, connect the wallet to the ENS app with the wallet’s network set to the Ethereum mainnet. You can then register the ENS name for your wallet address by typing it into the search bar to check availability. The new ENS domain will be paid in ETH, plus ETH gas fee.
What is manufacturer?
A step-by-step guide to one of the most influential DeFi lending protocols
At the lowest price, an ENS domain name is only $5. However, since two transactions are required (Commit and Reveal), both require an ETH gas fee. The process itself is as fast as Ethereum. That means up to 5 minutes for Ethereum to complete The Surge upgrade.
You can only have one primary ENS name per Ethereum wallet address, so dApps can automatically display your name when you connect to them. Virtually all Ethereum dApps support ENS in all categories, from Uniswap and Aave to OpenSea and Decentraland.
Can you import DNS names?
If you already own a traditional domain name via DNS, entering it in the ENS search text will give you the DNSSEC option. Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) is an additional layer of security that website owners typically enable to prevent DNS-based attacks.
This is because DNS data is cryptographically signed. When people visit pages or open email links, all data is passed through DNS, converting IP addresses into domain names. When a DNSSEC is enabled, the resolver for this conversion verifies that the original data has not been modified from the zone it came from.
ENS dApp requires DNSSEC to be enabled by your domain service provider. Note that there is no downside to enabling DNSSEC.
Since you already own the domain, the DNS import would only require an ETH gas fee. Once imported, it will appear under “My Account” alongside the regular ENS names.
ENS governance token
ENS Token is the protocol’s governance token, capped at 100M ENS, of which 20% are in circulation. ENS token holders receive DAO voting rights that affect their direction. One of the largest collaborations between ENS token holders is the creation of the ENS Constitution.
For example, to enhance the confidence of buyers of ENS domains, the Constitution commits not to interfere with owners’ ability to designate, renew, transfer, or withhold ENS names. Token holders can submit other proposals or amendments to the constitution, but such amendments would need to pass a threshold of 100,000 votes to even be considered a voting candidate.
This is similar to many nations’ referendum thresholds, where signatures must first be collected for the referendum vote to take place. ENS token holders can also vote on the allocation of funds to Web3 projects, appointment of DAO directors, etc. The ENS Foundation, incorporated in the Cayman Islands, legally represents DAO in the off-chain world.
Out of 100M ENS, half is reserved for the community, while a quarter goes to ENS development staff. Users who signed up for ENS (.eth) domains by October 31, 2021 will receive the remaining quarter. The ENS token reached its highest price point in November 2021 at $85.69.
ENS tokens are available on all major centralized exchanges such as Binance, OKX, FTX or Bitget. It is also found in liquidity pools on the largest decentralized exchanges such as Uniswap, SushiSwap or 1inch.
Disclaimer for the series:
This series article is for general guidance and information only for beginners participating in cryptocurrencies and DeFi. Nothing in this article should be construed as legal, business, investment or tax advice. Consult your advisors for all legal, business, investment and tax implications and advice. The Defiant is not liable for lost funds. Please use your best judgment and exercise due diligence before interacting with Smart Contracts.
Learn Crypto Trading, Yield Farms, Income strategies and more at CrytoAnswers
https://nov.link/cryptoanswers
Comments are closed.