Summary

The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) is a naming service for wallet addresses, hashes, and other machine-readable identifiers. It converts hard-to-read strings of data into easy-to-read addresses. It works similarly to the Domain Name System (DNS) used for websites.

Initially, ENS used the Vickrey auction format to auction popular 6-, 5-, 4-, and 3-letter domain names to interested users. Each name ends with .eth and can be appended to multiple cryptocurrency addresses, hashes, and other information.

Now you can easily purchase a name without an auction and lease it on an annual basis. The price depends on the length of the title you want to rent. Additionally, if you own an ENS domain name on October 31, 2021, you will be entitled to receive airdropped $ENS governance tokens. You can collect them until May 4, 2021.

Introduction

One of the biggest challenges facing blockchain is improving its ease of use and usability. Accessibility. If we look at payments using Ethereum (ETH) or Bitcoin (BTC), novice users and even experienced users find lengthy wallet addresses impractical and confusing. Strings of hexadecimal digits may be simple for computers, but they are less intuitive for human users. The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) solves this problem by allowing any individual to create simple website-style addresses that are easier to remember and use.

What is the Ethereum domain name service?

The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) is an Ethereum-based project launched on May 4, 2017 by Alex Van de Sande and Nick Johnson of the Ethereum Foundation. This project allows users to display lengthy Ethereum public addresses in a simplified text-based way. This makes it easier to share, use and remember addresses and other data. Converting machine-readable numbers like 1 0xab5801a7d398351b8be11c439e05c5b3259aec9b1 into human-readable alternative numbers is an important part of efforts to improve blockchain.

ENS is not limited to wallet addresses. It can also be used to represent transaction IDs, hashes, and metadata, all of which are very common in the cryptocurrency world. You're probably already very familiar with the Domain Name System (DNS), a naming system similar to the Internet's phone book. DNS takes hard-to-remember IP addresses and appends them to an easy-to-use URL, such as https://academy.binance.com. In fact, ENS is equivalent to the DNS of the Ethereum blockchain.

ENS has launched a governance token as part of its transition to a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). The project has started to form a trend, attracting a lot of attention due to the huge increase in the price of the token.

How does the Ethereum domain name service work?

ENS domain names use ERC-721 non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to represent a unique address. You can trade domain names by transferring or selling NFT to others. Each token has a wallet address and other information attached to it, and is managed by an owner. Top-level domains such as .eth are owned by smart contracts called registrars, which control the creation of subdomains. If you want to create BinanceAcademy.eth, you need to interact with the .eth registrar.

To purchase an Ethereum domain name, you can check its availability and rent it annually. However, popular domain names will be auctioned off at the outset. The highest bidder who wins a domain can attach an address, create a subdomain, and lend or sell their domain. For example, if you own BinanceAcademy.eth, you can also create learn.BinanceAcademy.eth for free.

What can you do with ENS?

If you have ever been so confused by multiple addresses when sending cryptocurrency, you will understand the need for ENS. Just like you associate a friend's phone number with their name and then save it, ENS lets users turn lengthy numbers into easy-to-remember words. This creates a more direct experience with less chance for error.

The owner of an ENS domain can also create subdomains and then assign additional data to them. It doesn't have to be a wallet address either. You can use it to directly associate smart contracts, transactions or metadata.

How to get your own ENS domain name?

Obtaining an ENS domain is very easy these days: just check its availability at https://app.ens.domains/ and register. Let's look at an example to see how to start the process. First, go to https://app.ens.domains/, associate your wallet, and enter the domain name you are interested in.

You will see the availability of the domain name you selected. In this example, we can register BinanceAcademy.

After clicking on the name, you will see instructions for registering the ENS domain name. You can choose the registration period and see the estimated cost. If you have Ethereum (ETH) in your wallet, you can request to register this address by following the three steps as shown.

In the early days of ENS, the popular 6, 5, 4 and 3 letter names would Auction via Vickrey auction format. The smart contract will complete the entire process within 5 days. Anyone can participate in the public auction and try to buy the same domain name. Each interested party can send a deal containing their highest bid during the first three days of the public auction.

The auction will then enter the public stage. Everyone will either make their bid public or lose their frozen ETH, and the winning bidder will pay an amount equal to the second-highest bid. All published bids will receive a refund.

How much does it cost to obtain an ENS domain name?

The cost of an ENS domain name may include two parts: auction cost and rental cost. In auctions, the price of an ENS domain depends on the popularity of the domain. Well-known names like God, Car or ETH sell for more, and short, three-letter words often cost the most. The prices of some domain names are listed below, you may wish to take a look.

Once you own an ENS domain name, you need to pay an annual renewal fee in ETH. Fees are stated in USD, but converted using the exchange rate given by the Chainlink ETH/USD oracle. The annual renewal fee is $5 for names of 5 characters or more, and the fewer letters, the higher the renewal fee.

How to apply for the Ethereum domain name service airdrop?

Any individual who owned a .eth address during the October 31, 2021 snapshot period is eligible to receive $ENS tokens. You can apply in just a few simple steps. You have until May 4, 2022 to claim your tokens or they will be destroyed.

1. First, go to ENS Airdrop and associate your wallet through the [Associate] or [Associate Wallet] button.

2. Select the wallet you want to connect to, such as MetaMask, WalletConnect or other providers.

3. Click [Start] to continue.

4. Now you will see [Start your claim process] and the amount you can claim.

5. Please be sure to read the explanatory information about $ENS, as well as the Bylaws, which you will need to sign with your wallet.

6. You can now choose to delegate the voting rights of your tokens to yourself or another user.

7. Finally, check the amount you claimed and your authorization, then click [Apply] and pay the gas fee to unlock your tokens.

Summary

In the world of decentralized networks, ENS is A big step forward in creating convenient ways to interact with the blockchain. Just as we no longer use IP addresses to browse the web, we are equally likely to see an increase in the use of ENS domain names due to their usefulness and growing popularity. Interest in the project from the cryptocurrency ecosystem has also increased since the project’s airdrop.