ENS Labs, the firm that launched the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) in 2017, are gearing up for their next major project. By late 2025, they plan to launch a layer-2 blockchain network called Namechain, built on the Ethereum blockchain. Namechain will leverage zero-knowledge rollup technology to improve transaction efficiency, reducing both costs and processing times. In the ENS domain ecosystem, simpler names like “xyz.eth” typically hold more value than complex ones like “asd1as.eth.”
As per a report, the launch of Namechain is aimed at streamlining blockchain identities, making them more straightforward and user-friendly. Not only will this layer 2 blockchain simplify the process for ENS registrations but the network is also expected to make the service more accessible for users.
This week, ENS Labs made an official announcement about Namechain. In a post on X from their handle @ensdomains, ENS stated, “By dramatically reducing costs, improving performance, and providing a familiar Ethereum developer experience, our hope is to unlock new opportunities for ENS and Ethereum.”
Announced live at #frENSday:microphone:
Namechain by @ensdomains , a purpose-built Layer 2 solution!
This is the next evolution in ENS and part of the larger ENSv2 direction. By dramatically reducing costs, improving performance, and providing a familiar Ethereum developer experience our… pic.twitter.com/bIwHa22vJL
— ens.eth (@ensdomains) November 11, 2024
ENS Labs has allocated an initial budget of $4 million (roughly Rs. 33 crore) in USDC stablecoin to support Namechain’s development, with funding provided by the ENS DAO, which oversees the ENS protocol. The full budget required for testing and deploying this Layer-2 network, however, has not yet been disclosed.
ENS Labs’ latest initiative follows the rising popularity of its Ethereum Name Service (ENS). ENS is a decentralised domain name protocol that simplifies complex Ethereum wallet addresses, transforming them into easy-to-read names like “ABC.eth,” making crypto transactions more accessible and user-friendly.
In July 2022, ENS tracker Dune Analytics reported that daily ENS registrations had spiked significantly, reaching over 50,000 new addresses that month. The same year, Nike’s Web3 arm called ‘RTFKT’ obtained ten ENS domains.
Notably, registrations of ENS domains recorded a drop of 22.9 percent in September this year, as per a report by CoinMarketCap. The report also notes that ENS is a crucial component of the Web3 ecosystem, with the total number of active domains now standing at over 1.9 million.
In October, Google completed the integration of ENS on its Search engine. This development is aimed at making it easier for people to search for any name based on the ENS domain, signified by ‘.eth’.