Ethereum Name Service (ENS)

Have you ever come across the term ENS? No? And no wonder. But, let’s still shed some light on this issue to learn more about the Ethereum Name Service (ENS), including its architecture and other details.

If you look at cryptocurrencies, then people have to memorize long and complex addresses to access their crypto assets. The highly technical nature of the cryptocurrency space can be quite difficult for many users, especially for beginners and people who do not understand technology.

ENS aims to make cryptocurrency as easy as browsing the internet for everyone. In what way? Let’s figure it out.

General Information about the Ethereum Naming Service

Before proceeding to the definition of the Ethereum Name Service (ENS), it is important to determine its history. Why did ENS appear in the cryptocurrency space?

If you take a close look at the world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, you will find that it is still at the initial stage of formation. Similar to the IP address stage at the dawn of the Internet, cryptocurrency transactions are carried out using hexadecimal strings of digits. Therefore, users face problems of accessibility and ease of use of various blockchain-based solutions.

You can take a look at examples of cryptocurrency transactions to understand the issues of accessibility and ease of use. If you want to send a payment in cryptocurrency, then you will need a public wallet address. A public wallet address is, in fact, a string of letters and numbers arranged in a random, gibberish order. Moreover, different cryptocurrency users have unique public addresses for different cryptocurrencies. You can clearly see how complex a cryptocurrency can be with long strings of letters and numbers.

ENS has emerged as a productive solution to simplify working with cryptocurrencies and DeFi, especially for beginners. It allows users to create universal nicknames for all their public addresses and decentralized accounts. Instead of using obscure key strings for different crypto addresses, users can rely on a single ENS Ethereum domain. ENS aims to serve as a naming protocol for decentralized Internet services, providing portability and compatibility of Web 3.0 user names in various decentralized applications and blockchains.

Coinmarketrate.com describes it as a simple search service developed on the Ethereum blockchain. ENS helps to associate information with a name and works not only for Ethereum, but also for other blockchain networks. One can think of ENS as an alias generator in the case of Ethereum public addresses, improving the availability of cryptocurrencies.

However, it helps to translate machine-readable addresses in other blockchain networks into human-readable ones. Essentially, ENS works by matching long public addresses and replacing them with simple and easy-to-read names. You can better understand how the Ethereum name service works by thinking about its architecture.

ENS architecture

ENS is a distributed, open technology developed on the Ethereum blockchain, operating as an extensible naming system. The operation of ENS depends on its architecture, which includes two important components that perform various functions. The registry and resolvers are two important elements of the ENS architecture. Let’s learn more about the ENS architecture to understand the benefits of the Ethereum naming service and how it works.

• ENS Registry

The first important element of the ENS architecture is the registry, which, in fact, is a single smart contract. The ENS registry helps to keep a list of all domains and subdomains, as well as store three important points of information. The registry stores data about the domain owner and the domain resolver. In addition, the registry stores data on the caching lifetime of all records in the domain. In the case of Ethereum Name Service, the domain owner can be a smart contract or a user through external accounts.

The ENS registry also has a registrar who acts as a smart contract that owns the domain. The Registrar issues subdomains of a specific domain under its control to users who comply with certain contract rules. Some of the privileges of domain owners in the ENS Ethereum registry include,

1. Transfer of ownership rights to subdomains
2. Assigning TTL and resolver to a domain
3. Transfer of ownership of the domain to another address

The main function of the ENS registry is to map the name to resolver.

• Resolver

Resolvers are an important element in the ENS architecture and are primarily responsible for the operation of ENS. In fact, resolvers provide a clear answer to the question “Is the Ethereum name service safe?”. In fact, these are smart contracts that can contribute to the implementation of certain standards. Some of the common resolver implementations solve simple tasks, such as providing rarely changing addresses for certain names.

It should work on implementing methods for providing various records, such as cryptocurrency addresses and IPFS content hashes. Resolvers use the EIP standardization process to define new record types at any time. Interestingly, the EIP standardization process removes the need to make any changes to the ENS registry or existing resolvers.

Using ENS

The advantages of the Ethereum name service in simplifying the use and availability of cryptocurrency solutions are commendable. However, a basic understanding of the ENS architecture can be quite difficult for beginners. Imagine ENS as a combination of two Ethereum-based smart contracts – ENS registry and resolver. The ENS Registry works on the documentation of all registered domains on ENS and stores three important pieces of domain information. On the other hand, resolver is working on translating machine-readable addresses into domain names.

If you want to create a web3 username, then you can simply log into the ENS application and search for available domain names. Having found the domain name you need, you must go through the registration process in the Ethereum Name Service in a few simple steps. The registration process involves confirming two transactions from the wallet to pay annual fees. After obtaining ownership of the domain, you can simply link it to cryptocurrency wallets and websites by creating several subdomains.

Who manages ENS

ENS management also occupies an important place in the discussion of what the Ethereum Name Service is and how it works. The most notable feature of ENS is that it is a decentralized open source project developed on the Ethereum blockchain. Therefore, ENS does not rely on the traditional company hierarchy for management. The ENS project issues ENS tokens to various users, and also creates a DAO or a decentralized autonomous organization to manage the project.

The ENS token serves as an integral aspect of management in the ENS DAO, working as a utility and management token. The ENS token helps to submit proposals as well as vote to influence the future development of the protocol. Any owner of the ENS token can vote for various management proposals in the ENS DAO.

Features in the Ethereum Name Service

A detailed overview of the architecture, operation and management of ENS creates a strong impression of the capabilities of this tool. However, it is quite reasonable to wonder what is so special about ENS Ethereum that could attract people to it. You can think of it as a naming service for cryptocurrencies, just like DNS for the Internet. The only difference is that ENS is a decentralized alternative to the traditional DNS used on the Internet.

As a result, the benefits of the Ethereum name service help eliminate the risks associated with a single point of failure. In addition, the power of blockchain also provides a powerful boost to security and censorship resistance. The use of two smart contracts in the fundamental design of ENS also ensures compatibility with smart contracts and Ethereum-based applications.

In addition to offering clear names for complex crypto addresses, ENS also provides adequate security measures. Many people asking the question “Is Ethereum Name Service secure?” should know that ENS works using 256-bit fixed-length cryptographic hashes. ENS uses the Namehash process to get a hash from a specific name while maintaining hierarchical properties. A recursive process can help in generating unique hashes for valid domain names. As a result, cryptographic hashes provide increased security for ENS.

The most significant advantage of the Ethereum naming service is its availability as an open public resource. With the help of community management and decentralized components, ENS has the opportunity to develop powerful support for cryptocurrencies and the DeFi ecosystem.

Conclusion

A detailed overview of the basics of the Ethereum Name Service shows how revolutionary it is for cryptocurrencies. When newcomers try to enter the crypto space, they encounter long and complex strings of crypto addresses. Since cryptocurrencies and DeFi advocate accessibility, it is important to find solutions that can solve problems with the usability of cryptocurrencies.

ENS solves one of the most important problems by facilitating the conversion of machine-readable addresses into human-readable domains. In addition, it also offers a promising tool for optimizing the management of crypto assets by reducing all addresses to one domain.