What is ENS? It has the potential to change the internet forever and I’m going to break it down for you so you aren’t left out. Let’s get it.

• ENS stands for Ethereum Name Service
• ENS is a service that links your Ethereum address to a domain name of your choosing
• This works similar to an email address. You pick the name that you want you as your address, and you can easily tell people where to find you.
• A similar service called DNS, Domain Name Service, is an essential building block for the conventional internet, allowing website hosts to create unique names for their homes online
• ENS is much more secure than DNS though, because it is secured by the Ethereum blockchain instead of centralized servers
• This is much easier than the long alphanumeric addresses that are associated with most crypto wallets

How to use ENS

• Signing up is very easy. On the official ENS website (domains) you can type in the address you want to see if it’s available.
• It is relatively cheap too, for only 5 bucks a year you can secure your domain
• You can also use the ENS application to transfer ownership of the domain, or renew for future years
• ENS domains are NFTs which can also be bought and sold on NFT marketplaces

History of ENS

• There are numerous competitors in this space and there have been for years, including unstoppable domains and others
• ENS ended up gaining more of a network effect because it was supported by prominent Ethereum and NFT influencers who were some of the first to add .eth to the end of their names on Twitter
• ENS cemented it’s lead after the launch of it’s airdrop, which instantly made it one of the most recognized protocols in the crypto industry.
• ENS had one of the most popular airdrops in Ethereum’s history. Giving free tokens to anyone who had registered an ENS domain.
• The tokenomics on the airdrop were strong, which is pretty rare. Since there were no VCs backing the project, a significant portion of the platform’s funds were allocated for the airdrop and the future treasury, with 25% going to the users in the airdrop, 25% going to the team and other contributors, and 50% for the DAO’s community treasury.
• A ton of people use ENS as their identities online and to make transactions on Ethereum easier, but a significant amount of volume also comes from people speculating and squatting on domains.
• Some people have made a lot of money being early with buying domains that they think people will want
• Domains associated with numbers are also popular, thanks in large part to NFTs. If a collector has Bored Ape #69, they might want to get the ENS domain associated with that ape.
• Warning: market is not very liquid and it could take forever to get a sale. Some sellers of supposedly sought after domains are still waiting for a buyer.

Other Use cases

• ENS has also been instrumental in the development of “sign in with ethereum” a feature that will allow users to sign into all of their web2 accounts with their ethereum wallet, similar to how they now have the option to do the same with facebook or google
• This can also be used in real life cases as well. Japanese developer Hideyoshi Moriya posted two different videos to his twitter profile where he unlocked his car using an app on his phone and his ENS domain.