ENS token rises 10% as ENS Labs reveals ‘Namechain’ Ethereum L2 

The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) token rose more than 10% as ENS Labs announced details of its new Ethereum layer-2 solution “Namechain.”

Namechain is a purpose-built Ethereum layer-2 solution aimed at scaling blockchain identity by making it easier to register names at reduced costs via rollups, ENS Labs executives said in a presentation at the “frENSday” conference in Bangkok on Nov. 11.

Namechain will work in tandem with “ENSv2” — the protocol that enabled ENS to expand to Ethereum L2s.

“With ENSv2 and Namechain it will be significantly easier to register names, update records, manage decentralized websites and more,” said Greg Skril, ENS Labs developer relations Lead

ENS is a blockchain solution to the internet’s top-level domains like “.com” and “.org” in the Domain Name System — which is far easier to read than numerical IP addresses.

One of the most notable adopters of ENS is Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, whose Ethereum address can be searched in an Ethereum block explorer by typing in “Vitalik.eth.” 

The ENS token spiked 10.8% from $19.46 to $21.56 in a 30-minute window shortly after the announcement, according to CoinGecko.

Still, it was relatively short-lived, with ENS now below its pre-announcement price at $19.22.

Jeff Lau, a developer at ENS Labs, noted that ENS’s name domain “.eth” will remain “anchored” on the Ethereum mainnet, and ENS will be supported on other Ethereum layer 2s.

Lau said constructing an easy-to-use UX was one of the main reasons ENS Labs opted to build its own Ethereum layer 2 instead of integrating its solution on another chain.

Related: Decentralized naming could bring ‘next billion’ users to Bitcoin

In February, ENS Labs revealed it was “heavily” focused on researching ways to build its own Ethereum layer 2, during an interview with Cointelegraph.

ENS Labs hinted it had partnered with a major industry player to assist with its layer-2 expansion, but didn’t disclose which entity that was. 

In September, ENS integrated its name service protocol with payment platforms PayPal and Venmo for crypto transfers.

The integration is expected to reach more than 270 million users in the United States.

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