• Ethereum naming system developers plan to utilize off-chain resolvers.

• ENS achieved an impressive milestone of over 2.2 million registered domain names. 

During a community call on Thursday, ENS Labs, the Ethereum Name Service developer (ENS), announced its plans to integrate Layer 2 interoperability with ENS domains. This decentralized domain name system, built on the Ethereum blockchain, aims to enhance its functionality by enabling seamless communication between Layer 2 solutions and ENS domains.

The team emphasized the significance of Layer 2 interoperability as a vital upcoming enhancement. Layer 2 solutions, such as Arbitrum and Optimism, improve scalability and reduce costs by facilitating off-chain transaction processing separate from the Layer 1 Ethereum blockchain.

Recognizing the importance of accessibility, the team aims to enable the interaction between Layer 2 solutions and ENS domains. This initiative seeks to broaden the user base by making domain name registrations and transactions more accessible to a wider audience.

ENS’s Plans for Layer 2 Interoperability

As Ethereum gained popularity, the surge in gas prices prompted market participants to seek more economical alternatives. Among these alternatives is the Ethereum Name Service (ENS), which had previously expressed its plans to implement Layer 2 interoperability. 

This has been in the works for some time and involves the incorporation of ENSIP-10 for Wildcard Resolution and EIP-3668 for CCIP Read, enabling secure off-chain data retrieval. According to the developers, enabling the interaction between current solutions and ENS domains would enhance accessibility regarding domain name registrations and transactions for a broader range of users. 

Looking ahead, the Ethereum naming system developers plan to utilize off-chain resolvers by implementing an ENS off-chain registrar contract and partnerships with various service providers. These providers include cb.id, a project operated by Coinbase, Lens Protocol on the Polygon network and OptiNames on Optimism, among others. By leveraging these resources, the developers aim to facilitate seamless integration and expand the reach of ENS domains.

Gasless Import: ENS Roadmap Feature to Lower Barriers and Enhance Web Accessibility

The ENS team announced the close collaboration between ENS Labs and web-integrated domain name TLDs such as .art and .box. This collaboration aims to establish seamless integration, allowing users to register browser-supported names through the ENS platform. Additionally, it marks a significant milestone as DNS names can be traded as NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain for the first time this year.

During the community call, the team discussed a new feature added to the roadmap. This feature entails the option to import DNS, the web naming protocol, into ENS without incurring any transaction costs, making it a “gasless” process. Additionally, this upcoming feature, scheduled for release in the third quarter of the year, has the potential to enhance web accessibility within the ENS ecosystem and reduce barriers for traditional internet users, as highlighted by the team.

Ethereum Name Service Domain Registrations 

Undeterred by the tumultuous state of the digital asset market in the previous year, ENS achieved an impressive milestone of over 2.2 million registered domain names. Furthermore, this number has consistently increased, reaching a current total of 2.73 million spread across nearly 700,000 unique addresses. To further enhance accessibility and convenience, ENS introduced a new fiat on-ramp for domain registrations in April. 

This innovative feature, facilitated through the Web3 fiat payment gateway MoonPay, allowed Web3 users to register decentralized .eth domains seamlessly. Additionally,  this integration enabled users to utilize popular fiat payment options like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and debit and credit cards, expanding the range of choices available for domain registration.