The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) replaces complex and difficult-to-read public addresses with simple, human-readable names.
The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) has developed as a useful option for converting machine-readable addresses on other blockchain networks to human-readable addresses.
Before Paul Mockapetris’s ground-breaking creation of the Domain Name System (DNS) in 1983, you had to write in the whole IP address of the website you wanted to visit, such as 54.235.191.121, in order to access it.
The same is applicable to the cryptocurrency sector, where you must provide a 42-character long string known as the public address of a cryptocurrency wallet. The Ethereum Name Service was developed specifically to solve this problem..
What is Ethereum Name Service?
The ENS is a distributed, open technology built on the Ethereum blockchain that functions as an expandable naming system. It enables users to generate universal aliases for all of their public addresses and decentralized accounts.
The primary goal of ENS is to act as the naming protocol for decentralized internet services by enabling portable and interoperable web 3.0 usernames across various decentralized apps and blockchains. Users can rely on a single ENS Ethereum domain as opposed to a confusing string of keys for many crypto addresses.Â
Similar to how DNS pairs internet protocol (IP) addresses with domain names with human-readable names, allowing users to fill in the name of the website rather than the exact numeric IP address.
Ethereum Name Service makes an effort to make it simpler for users (as well as programs) to read and distribute cryptocurrency addresses in a similar yet different fashion.
In 2017, the Ethereum Foundation’s Alex Van de Sande and Nick Johnson oversaw the initial development of the ENS. However, it split out in 2018 to form a new organization under the direction of Nick Johnson.
The development of ENS is overseen by True Names LTD, a Singaporean nonprofit. The ENS team is made up of seasoned Solidity programmers and several former employees of the Ethereum Foundation.
ENS token and ENS DAO
The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) is an open-source protocol run by a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). The DAO is managed by holders of the ENS token, who can make proposals and vote on them to influence the future evolution of the system.
This ENS token serves as both a governance token and a utility token, enabling users to vote on proposals and influence the protocol’s future course. Anyone with ENS tokens can vote for proposals on the ENS DAO. No modifications to the protocol can be implemented without a vote by the governance, as with any DAO.
The ENS governance token is an ERC-20 token. The total quantity of ENS tokens is limited to 100 million.
How Does ENS Work?
The Ethereum Naming Service (ENS) makes use of the Ethereum mainnet’s security and programmability to enable users to purchase safe, private, and censorship-resistant domain names. The foundation of ENS is two Ethereum smart contracts. They are called the resolvers and the registry.
ENS Registry
The ENS registry maintains a list of each domain registered on ENS. It also saves three critical pieces of information about each domain; the domain owner, the resolver, and the caching time.
The ENS registry assists in keeping track of all domains and subdomains in addition to preserving three critical pieces of information. The domain owner in the context of the Ethereum Name Service can either be a smart contract or a user using external accounts.
The ENS registry also has a registrar, which acts as a smart contract with domain ownership. The registrar grants users that adhere to specific contractual requirements the subdomains of the particular domain under their control.
The resolver
Resolvers are essentially smart contracts that can help with the application of particular standards. It transforms domain names into computer-readable addresses and vice versa way around. This smart contract associates the relevant user, website, or address with each domain.
A resolver manages a variety of data types, including user profiles, avatars, IPFS content hash, cryptocurrency addresses, and more.
Resolvers can define new record types at any moment via the EIP standardization process. The requirement for any changes to the ENS registry or current resolvers is removed by the EIP standardization process.
How to Register an Ethereum Name Service (ENS) Domain?
You need an Ethereum wallet, such as MetaMask, and the ENS domains web app to create your web3 login.
First, conduct a search for a suitable domain name. When you have chosen one, you will then be required to finish the registration process. This entails validating two transactions from your wallet and paying the annual charge of $5 if the name is greater than five characters. Once you have the domain, you can connect it to your websites and cryptocurrency wallets.
Under the same ENS domain, you can also create various subdomains such as email.rick.eth and website.rick.eth. Keep in mind that each change is made directly to the Ethereum blockchain and is subject to a gas fee, which may change based on the day and hour of the change.
It’s also important to remember that ENS domains are hard to come by and that the process is quite similar to buying a DNS name. Some crypto enthusiasts buy a number of ENS domains in the hopes of selling them later when more people and brands start using web3, as this is still a relatively new aspect of web3.
The ENS register also supports the most widely used DNS names, including .com, .org, .io, and .app.
Benefits of Using ENS domain
The following are the key benefits of having and using an ENS domain:
- ENS allows for simple and readable addresses
- ENS helps prevent Human errors
- ENS is secured and decentralized
- Central user-owned storage identity
- ENS is a router for non-Ethereum addresses
ENS allows for simple and readable addresses
The stress associated with having to copy or enter lengthy hexadecimal addresses is eliminated by the Ethereum Name Service (ENS).
Sending payments is significantly simplified by the human-readable crypto address provided by your new domain. Compared to trying to enter a lengthy traditional crypto wallet address, it is easier and faster.
ENS helps prevent Human errors
The Ethereum Name Service speeds up the entire crypto payment process and helps to avoid human error. You can configure your domain to be your name or business name to increase the recognition of your wallet. In contrast to using the ETH address function, this method of accepting payments is more likely to make new users feel at ease, which promotes the adoption of new cryptocurrencies.
ENS is secured and decentralized
The ENS is created using an Ethereum smart contract and receives all network benefits. Because of this, it is more private, secure, and resistant to censorship than the internet’s Domain Name Service (DNS).
The future web3 wants to be a decentralized and open infrastructure, which only makes sense when leveraging internet-naming infrastructure like ENS domains.
Central user-owned storage identity
You can store more than simply IPFS sites or cryptocurrency addresses with ENS. You can add your Twitter profile, bio, avatar, email, addresses of other ENS-supported blockchains, and a lot more. People can access all of these specifics by simply going to your.eth domain. Users may link different addresses to different subdomains for various purposes.
ENS can readily communicate with other Ethereum-based smart contracts and apps since it makes use of the current Ethereum ecosystem.
ENS is a router for non-Ethereum addresses
You can utilize a single ENS domain to receive native assets from over one hundred blockchains. This implies that you can obtain tokens for those cryptocurrencies, such as BTC, LTC, etc., as well as any other assets, such as NFT, that are stored on that blockchain.
Conclusion
Ethereum Name Service is without a doubt a significant innovation in the crypto sector. It has been crucial in resolving the issue of users having to deal with large strings of numbers and letters as addresses.
These hexadecimal characters are converted by ENS into simplified human-readable characters, which improves the overall user experience. ENS aims to make cryptocurrency as simple to use as browsing the internet.
