Coin columns · Ethereum City (Capital)
ENS: The ‘name.eth’ Address Book of Ethereum and Its Governance Coin
The name service heading into ENSv2, and its DAO token
The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) lets people use readable names such as ‘alice.eth’ instead of long wallet addresses starting with 0x. The ENS token gives votes in the decentralized organization (DAO) that governs the system.
1. The address book of Ethereum and who built it
ENS was launched in 2017 by a team led by Nick Johnson. Just as the internet’s Domain Name System turns ‘google.com’ into a server address, ENS turns ‘alice.eth’ into a wallet address. ENS Labs built and ran it at first, but in November 2021 the ENS token and a DAO were created and decisions passed to token holders, with tokens first handed to past users in an airdrop (a free distribution).
The ENS token has a total supply of 100 million, and names are paid for in ether (ETH), not in the token. On the Crypto Nation map, ENS stands in Ethereum City (the capital), because Ethereum is where the coin was first issued.
2. How a name becomes an address
At the center is a registry, a smart contract that records each name’s owner and its ‘resolver’, the contract that answers questions about the name. When someone looks up ‘alice.eth’, the registry points to the resolver, which returns a wallet address, avatar or social accounts. A .eth name is rented yearly, shorter names cost more, and after expiry plus a grace period anyone can register it.
ENS also lets ordinary internet domains such as .com or .xyz be brought onto Ethereum through DNSSEC (a way of cryptographically protecting domain records), and a name’s owner can hand out subnames beneath it. A 2023 feature, the NameWrapper, lets owners restrict what subname holders may do.
3. Where it is used, and what happened
ENS names serve as payment addresses in wallet apps and exchanges, and as a profile that follows people around Ethereum. One name can also hold addresses on other blockchains such as Bitcoin. After the 2021 airdrop launched the DAO, registration fees became a revenue stream managed by it.
In February 2026 ENS Labs cancelled its planned Layer 2 called Namechain and said ENSv2, the next version, would be deployed directly on Ethereum, because Ethereum’s own scaling had cut registration costs sharply. In October 2026 Nick Johnson posted a draft proposal to activate ENSv2; it still needs an on-chain DAO vote, and no vote date has been announced.
4. Things to know
Lookalike names made from similar-looking characters enable phishing, so check names carefully before sending funds. A .eth name is a renewable lease rather than permanent ownership, and speculators often grab expired names.
ENSv2 redesigns the registry, so the switch brings error risk and a pause of a few hours in registrations, and critics note voting power can gather among large delegates. ENS also depends on Ethereum and on wallets and apps choosing to support its names.
Written from information public up to October 2026. It does not recommend or rate any coin and is not investment advice. If something is wrong, please tell us through the contact page.