Résumé

The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) is a naming service for wallet addresses, hashes, and other machine-readable identifiers. It translates data strings into easily readable addresses. It works similar to the Domain Name System (DNS) used for websites.

Initially, ENS put popular six-, five-, four-, and three-letter domain names up for sale to interested users using the Vickrey auction format. Each name has a .eth suffix and can be attached to multiple crypto addresses, hashes, and other information.

You can now easily buy names without auctions and rent them for the year. Prices depend on the length of the name you want to rent. Additionally, if you own an ENS domain on October 31, 2021, you are entitled to an airdrop of $ENS governance tokens. You have until May 4, 2021 to collect them.

Introduction

One of the biggest challenges of blockchain is improving its usability and accessibility. If we look at payments using Ethereum (ETH) or Bitcoin (BTC), new users and even experienced users may find the long wallet addresses inconvenient and confusing. Hexadecimal number strings are simple for a computer to read, but less intuitive for human users. The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) offers a solution to the problem by allowing anyone to create simple website-style addresses that are easier to remember and use.

What is Ethereum 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. The project allows users to view long public Ethereum addresses in a simplified way, in text form. This makes it easier to share, use and remember addresses and other data. Transforming machine-readable numbers like 0xAb5801a7D398351b8bE11C439e05C5B3259aeC9B into human-readable alternatives is an important part of improving blockchain adoption.

ENS is not limited to wallet addresses either. It can be used to represent transaction IDs, hashes and metadata, all commonly encountered in the world of cryptocurrencies. You may already be familiar with DNS (Domain Name System), a name system that acts like the Internet's phone book. DNS takes hard-to-remember IP addresses and connects them to an easy-to-use URL like https://academy.binance.com. In fact, the ENS is the DNS of the Ethereum blockchain.

ENS has since launched a governance token as part of its transition to a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). Due to a significant increase in the price of the token, the project began to gain traction and generated a lot of interest.

How does the Ethereum Name Service work?

An ENS domain name uses ERC-721 non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to represent a unique address. You can trade a domain by transferring or selling the NFT to someone else. Wallet addresses and other information are attached to each token, which can be managed by its owner. A top-level domain like .eth is owned by a smart contract called a registrar which controls the creation of subdomains. If you wanted to create BinanceAcademy.eth, you need to interact with the .eth registrar.

To buy an Ethereum domain name, you can check its availability and rent it annually. However, the most popular names were initially put up for auction. The highest bidder who wins the domain can then attach addresses, create subdomains, and lend or sell their domain name. For example, if you owned BinanceAcademy.eth, you could also create learn.BinanceAcademy.eth for free.

What can you do with ENS?

If you've ever struggled with multiple addresses when sending cryptocurrencies, you'll understand the need for ENS. Like saving a friend's phone number under their name, ENS lets users turn long numbers into easy-to-remember words. This creates a simpler experience with less chance of error.

An ENS domain owner can also create subdomains to which they can assign other data. It also doesn't have to be a wallet address. You can use it to direct to a smart contract, a transaction or metadata.

How to get your own ENS domain?

Today, getting an ENS name is as simple as checking its availability at https://app.ens.domains/ and registering it. Let's take an example of how to start the process. First, go to https://app.ens.domains/, connect your wallet and enter the domain you are interested in.

You will now see the availability of the name you have chosen. In our case, BinanceAcademy can be registered.

Once you click on the name, you will see instructions to register the ENS domain. You can choose your registration period and also see a fee estimate. With Ether (ETH) in your wallet, you can follow the three steps given and request address registration.

During the early days of ENS, six-, five-, four-, and three-letter domain names were put up for sale in Vickrey-style auctions. A smart contract executed the entire process over five days. Anyone could participate in a public auction and attempt to purchase the same domain name. Each interested party would send a transaction containing their maximum bid during the first three days of the open auction.

The auction then enters the reveal phase. Everyone would reveal their bid or lose their locked ETH, and the winning bidder would pay an amount equal to the second highest bid. All revealed offers would then be refunded.

How much does it cost to obtain an ENS domain?

The cost of an ENS domain can be broken down into two parts: auction fees and rental fees. The price of an ENS domain name in an auction depended on the popularity of the name. Recognizable names like God, Car, or ETH, fetched higher prices, and short three-letter words were generally the most expensive. You can see examples below of some prices paid for domain names.

Once you own an ENS domain, you must pay an annual renewal cost payable in ETH. Fees are quoted in dollars but converted using an ETH/USD exchange rate provided by the Chainlink oracle. The cost of annual renewal is $5 per year for names with five or more characters, but becomes more expensive as the number of letters decreases.

How to claim the Ethereum Name Service airdrop?

Anyone with a .eth address during a snapshot on October 31, 2021 can receive $ENS tokens. You can claim them in a few simple steps. You have until May 4, 2022 to claim your tokens before they are destroyed.

1. First, go to Airdrop ENS and connect your wallet with the [Connect] or [Connect wallet] button.

2. Choose the wallet you want to connect with, like MetaMask, WalletConnect or any other.

3. Click [Get started] to continue.

4. You will now see the option [Start your claim process] as well as the amount you can receive.

5. Be sure to read the educational information about $ENS and then the Constitution, which you will need to sign using your wallet.

6. Now you can choose to delegate the voting power of your tokens to yourself or another user.

7. Finally, check the amount you are claiming and your delegate before clicking [Claim] and paying the gas fee to unlock your tokens.

To conclude

In the world of decentralized networks, ENS is a step forward towards creating easily accessible ways to interact with a blockchain. Just as we no longer use IP addresses to browse the web, we may see a rise in ENS names due to their usefulness and growing popularity. Since its airdrop, we have also seen an increase in interest from the cryptocurrency ecosystem in the project.