Have you ever seen someone with an Ethereum “.eth” wallet address, rather than the usual long string of numbers and letters? Well, my friend, this is an ENS field.
What does ENS mean?
ENS stands for Ethereum Name Service.
ENS is a protocol on the Ethereum blockchain, which shortens a long cryptographic address into a short, human-readable URL.
The new address is made up of a prefix and a suffix. The prefix can be whatever you want! Whether it's your name, your company brand, or just a silly word, it's up to you. The native suffix of ENS is “.eth”. However, they also support classic DNS suffixes such as .com, .orgAnd .X Y Z.
The domain is stored as a domain on the blockchain. This means it has to be minted by someone, which can then be traded on NFT markets such as Open Sea.
When purchasing or creating a domain, you will need to set a “registration period”. This is basically how long you will own the domain. Through the ENS applicationthis starts at 1 year and can go as high as you want.
What can you use them for?
There are two main reasons why you would purchase an ENS domain.
The first, which we've already talked about, is to replace the long address of your crypto wallet.
Alternatively, you can host decentralized websites using your ENS domain. By their decentralized nature, they will be “censorship resistant“.
If this interests you, a developer at ENS, @makoto_inouereleased a Medium post to explain.
Once you have an ENS, you can also create subdomains. For example, if you own “hashnode.eth”, you can create the subdomain “web3.hashnode.eth”. With this, you can either create subdomains for yourself or assign ownership to other people. You are free to do whatever you want with them.
Finally, as with many things in the crypto space, it can be an investment vehicle. Members of the ENS community believe that these areas will play a huge role in the future of the Internet. So they buy premium domains for sale at full price.
Are there any names I can't use?
Not really, there is no limit to what can be recorded. This includes foreign characters (e.g. ñ), symbols (e.g. ☺) and offensive terms. However, there is a minimum of characters (3) and a maximum (255).
How do ENS domains work?
ENS relies on two components: the ledger and the resolvers – these are two separate smart contracts.
The registry records all registered domains; with the domain owner, the domain resolver and the lifetime caching (how long before the domain expires). It is the job of this component to keep a log of all ENS domains.
The resolver translates domain names. This is either the human-readable URL or the long string, or vice versa. Anyone who applies ENS standards can act as a resolver of the protocol. It is the job of this component to pair the domain with its user.
The resolution of an ENS domain takes place in two stages:
- Ask the registry which resolver is responsible for the ENS domain.
- Ask the resolver for the address to resolve the domain and process the transaction.
Source: ENS Documentation.
How to buy an ENS domain?
Meeting on app.ens.domainsconnect your wallet and enter the desired domain name.
Then, select your registration period and click on the “Request registration” button. You will then be asked to confirm your transaction.
Once this transaction is processed, you will have to wait about a minute for the “Register” button to become available. Click on it, confirm the second transaction and wait for it to be processed.
How can I set it as the primary ENS name?
You should see “Primary ENS Name (Reverse Record): Not Defined”. Click the drop-down menu, select your ENS name, then click “Save”.
If it says “Primary ENS Name (Reverse Registration): (YOUR ENS NAME)”, skip the previous step.
You have now purchased your ENS domain and made it your primary ENS name, which means it will represent your wallet address. See the left of the ENS Domain application screen for an example.
ENS domains vs DNS domains
How is all this different from traditional domain name system (DNS) areas?
DNS translates IP addresses into human-readable URLs. The main difference here is that ENS converts Ethereum addresses into human-readable URLs. They both play similar roles, but in different generations of the web.
In theory, DNS domains are less secure than ENS domains. This is because the centralized servers of the DNS are an easier target for an attack, compared to the decentralized nature of the ENS.
DNS domains are also subject to trademark law. Which means that if you had Coinbase.com (before Coinbase owned it), the company could take legal action against you.
We have not yet seen this applied in the ENS space but, due to its design, it might be difficult to apply. Indeed, the domain owner can be anonymous and no centralized company controls the domains. If you can't find the owner or convince a company to replace them, how will you enforce trademark law?
This is positive for investors but negative for companies wishing to enter this sector. It is possible that investors can make a lot of money from companies that want to create a decentralized website or ENS wallet address.
A Web3 alternative to ENS domains
There is a major competitor to ENS: Unstoppable Domains
Unstoppable Domains
Unstoppable Domains is another crypto naming service. They offer suffixes such as .crypto, .nftAnd .bitcoin.
Unlike the ENS, there are no renewal fees. Once purchased, you own it for life. They also support multiple chains outside of Ethereum, such as Blockchain Cardano using Yoroi wallet.
They also allow you to rename wallet addresses and host decentralized websites.
Unstoppable Domains vs. ENS Domains
The main difference between the two is that ENS requires a registration period, while Unstoppable Domains allows you to own the address forever after a one-time payment.
Unstoppable Domains has also reserved certain domains due to brand protection. On this topic, Unstoppable Domains said“To bring the next billion users into crypto, we need to integrate the existing internet community. Over the past 25 years, companies have invested enormous resources to build online brands. We want these companies to embrace and adopt blockchain domains.”
This is not the case for the ENS domains; you can buy any domain without permission from ENS or any company.
When the director of operations of the ENS, Brantly Milleganhe was asked what the difference was between the two projects, he said“ENS is an open and public protocol, developed by a non-profit organization without investors, with EIPs and support from the Ethereum Foundation, has more features and is widely adopted by the industry. UD is a privatized copy with an enterprise gatekeeper, fewer features (they just copy ENS) and much less adoption.
This article is part of the Hashnode Web3 Blog, where a team of selected editors offers new resources to help you discover the world of web3. Visit us to learn more about NFTs, DAOs, blockchains and the decentralized future.