Ethereum Name Service is the first open-source, public blockchain domain protocol on Ethereum. ENS maps human-readable domain names like chad.eth to crypto wallet addresses, content hashes, and metadata, making them easy to share, use and remember. ENS is the name and ticker symbol of Ethereum Name Service's native governance token.
When you purchase a domain from ENS, you receive a tradable ERC721 NFT contract with your chosen domain name for a fixed period. Renewal fees are applicable yearly. With an ENS name, you can access crypto wallet addresses and receive cryptocurrencies and NFTs through your .eth username. ENS also supports traditional domain names such as .com, .org, .io, .app, .xyz, and .art.
You can also create and configure subdomains if you own an ENS domain. For example, if you own bob.eth, you can create crypto.bob.eth. The InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) network also allows you to launch censorship-resistant decentralized websites with ENS. To do so, upload your website to IPFS and access it with your ENS name.
Ethereum Naming Services has over 463 integrations, including wallets, apps, and browsers. These integrations include trusted names like Coinbase, Trust Wallet, Uniswap, Etherscan, AAVE, Brave, Cloudflare, and Metamask. ENS is an ERC-20 governance token of the ENS DAO. ENS token holders can vote on protocol proposals. They can also delegate their voting power to other ENS community members.
ENS price and tokenomics
ENS has a total supply of 100 million tokens. 50% is allocated to the ENS DAO community treasury, 10% was distributed at launch, and the remaining supply is scheduled to be unlocked over four years. The DAO plans to spend these funds on growth and development initiatives like grants, hackathons, meetups, and more.
From the remaining supply, 25% of the tokens were airdropped to ENS users who own or have owned .eth second-level domain. This airdrop drew much media attention to the protocol, causing a positive action for ENS price. Another 25% was given to individuals and organizations contributing significantly to ENS. These include the core team at True Names LTD, external contributors, select integrations, translators, launch advisors, root key holders, and over 450 active members in the ENS Discord server, among others.
About the founders
Ethereum Naming Service was founded in early 2017 by Nick Johnson at the Ethereum Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports Ethereum. After a year, ENS was incorporated as True Names Limited, a Singapore-based non-profit. True Names LTD oversees ENS development. The project has received financial support from Ethereum Foundation, Chainlink, Protocol Labs, and Ethereum Classic Labs. ENS has also collaborated with Cloudflare to develop Coudfare's native ENS and IPFS gateway for eth.link.