After 2019, the concept of Web3 saw a buzz in the technical field. Web 3.0 or Web3 is the third generation of internet services for websites and applications that leverages machine learning, artificial intelligence and blockchain to achieve real-world human communication.
Imagine a new type of internet that not only accurately interprets what you input, but actually understands everything you convey, whether through text, voice or other media. All the content you consume will be more tailored to you than ever before. The icing on the cake is that individuals will not only be able to own their data but will also be compensated for their time spent on the web. We are at the tipping point of a new phase in the web’s evolution. It will focus on using a machine-based understanding of data to provide a data-driven and semantic web. The ultimate goal of web3 is to create more intelligent, connected and open websites.
The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) is one of the most important infrastructures of the Ethereum network and of course, the Web3 network. Using ENS as the name, NFT as the avatar, and AR to store content is already the standard configuration for Web3.0.
What is the Ethereum Name Service (ENS)?
In the early days of the web, you needed to type in the IP address to access a website. These IP addresses are a string of numbers difficult to read and remember and almost impossible to guess. This made surfing the web very inconvenient and hassled for users. Then came the domain name service (DNS) – human-readable names to make it easier for people to surf the world wide web. Instead of a long IP address, you could simply type in ‘google.com’.
ENS takes the concept of Domain Name Service (DNS), which mapped websites with simple names like ‘facebook.com’ instead of long IP addresses.
The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) is a distributed technology built on the Ethereum blockchain that replaces long alphanumeric addresses with simple, human-readable and memorable names. For example, a Coinbase wallet, for use on the Ethereum blockchain might look something like this:
0xb15166d10aebc6bb4868668eff1b3acd95da920c
With ENS, that long string becomes something as simple as ‘henry.eth’. And that in a nutshell is what Ethereum name service is.
What makes ENS unique?
The ENS is composed of two Ethereum smart contracts: the ENS registry and the Resolver. The ENS registry records domain names. While the Resolver converts human-readable Ehtereum addresses like ‘henry.eth’ to machine-readable alphanumeric codes. The reverse is also possible – to associate metadata and machine-readable addresses with human-readable Ethereum addresses.
The ENS is highly programmable and can interact with other smart contracts other than naming. It can make use of the existing Ethereum ecosystem to provide distributed, trustworthy name resolution for Web3 resources such as blockchain addresses. And unlike its competitors, ENS does not aim to replace DNS. Instead, it can transfer the DNS to the decentralized Web3. Thanks to blockchain technology, ENS does not have a single point of failure and is by design, more censorship-resistant and secure. This makes it a one-of-a-kind infrastructure of the Web3.
The ENS is also the solution to one of the main obstacles to the mass adoption of blockchain technologies – accessibility and ease of use. ENS simplifies the user experience and makes blockchain technology less technical.
Data and asset transactions
The most exciting thing about Web3.0 is that we are in control of our own data. There will be no need for a centralized authority to overlook how we store, manage and use our data. Most file storing and sharing will happen on decentralized blockchains. It will be public, semi-private but protected and anonymous.
Using public and private keys, like we do to manage our crypto assets, we can securely store our sensitive files like land ownership, ownership of a digital or physical asset, crypto coins, NFTs, personal identity, medical reports, and so much more. Since blockchain technology is fully digital and cloud-based, we will not have to worry about what will happen if our devices corrupt or when an online service shuts down. Also, storing files on a blockchain network is a million times safer than physical copies of our papers.
Where ENS comes into play in all of this is that our ENS will serve as the address where our files are stored. Our digital assets will be tokenized and assigned to our public address, the ENS. As a result, it is clear as day who owns what assets. This also makes it easier to transfer and share files. Imagine you want to transfer ownership of a file or asset to another public address. Typing a long string of numbers and characters is risky. One missed character and your assets will be transferred to an entirely different address. There might be no hope of reviving our ownership. Instead, you can give out your ENS. Easier, less prone to mistakes and convenient all along.
As already discussed before, ENS is not just .eth. Today, ENS can directly integrate with over 1300 top-level domain names. Meaning, that if you own henry.com, you can link it directly to henry.eth. Your visitors can view social content on the site and send crypto assets to the exact same place. Anything on your Web2.0 accounts will be transferred to the new Web3.0 smoothly.
ENS DAO
The ENS is operated by a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), which is essentially an organization with no centralized leadership. In November 2021, the project airdropped ENS tokens to users of the service. The token-holders use their assets as “shareholders” – they can make decisions about pricing, protocol changes and how to manage funds of the revenue.
There is an ENS governance token created on the Ethereum blockchain. Like most crypto tokens, they can be traded. But they serve a more important role than just a store of value. ENS community members, the ones who hold the tokens, are members of the DAO. They use their tokens to communicate changes they wish to see in the organization. For any agenda, if 67% of votes are cast on the favour, then it passes and becomes a “law”. Or, if a user wants to submit a proposal to the ENS community, they will need the support of 100,000 tokens for it to go to a vote. This secures our data and assets. Anything recorded on a blockchain is practically impossible to change, edit, or tamper with.
The community will be able to vote on what percentage of the liquidity pool will be granted for Web3 development and appointing or removing a director, member or supervisor.
The tokens are distributed as per the developers of the ENS token. The percentage portion remains as:
- Community treasury: 50%
- Airdrop to .eth holders: 25%
- ENS contributors: 25%
These tokens were airdropped to wallers connected to the ENS domains. Based on how long a user has had a domain name and how they own it, fractions were allocated accordingly. This means that casual users received tens of thousands of tokens while people who have held domains for many years received even more generous allocations.
The Bottom Line
Ethereum is home to the world’s most decentralized apps, decentralized finance and crypto services. Its decentralized and permissionless systems will greatly increase application in new areas and improve user interactions. Especially in Web3.0 where the premise is to be in control of our own data. ENS will prove as the basis of our identity.
What do you think will be the role of ENS in WEB3.0?
Is it really the core for Web3.0?The bottom line is web 3.0 will remove many inconveniences of web 2.0. Our identity, most things we own, and all our data, as well as every application we use, will be linked together and able to work together. Web 2.0 will evolve slowly into the new and better internet, web 3.0. Maybe Facebook changing its name to Meta is already the beginning. We will have to wait and see.