[Ethereum Name Service plans Layer2 migration to reduce gas fees and increase speed]
The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) plans a major update that will move it to a Layer 2 network to reduce gas fees and increase transaction speeds.
ENS Labs officially presented the ENSv2 proposal on May 28, aiming to improve scalability and functionality. Nick Johnson, founder and chief developer of ENS, said that ENSv2 will introduce a new registration system to manage .eth domain names. He explained: "ENSv2 will introduce a hierarchical registration system for .eth name management. Name holders will have access to a unique name registration system where they can manage subdomains and configure resolvers."
Additionally, name holders will be able to customize name governance, including selecting expiration terms and transfer rules.
This proposal also aims to move the protocol from the Ethereum mainnet to a Layer2 network to increase ENS’ scalability, reduce gas fees, and speed up transactions. ENS Labs says this approach benefits both users and developers.
When asked what would be lost by not migrating, the ENS team explained that users would not be able to enjoy the lower gas fees and faster speeds of .eth name registration renewal and management. Layer2 fees are typically 100 times cheaper than Ethereum mainnet.
Eskender Abebe, head of product and strategy at ENS Labs, pointed out that this change will provide a better user experience. He said: "The release of EIP4844 makes Ethereum-based Layer 2 networks very affordable and scalable, which is an important driving factor for the ENS proposal."
Abebe added: "This is ENS's attempt to keep up with improvements in the Web3 space. As Web3 continues to evolve, so does ENS, and we want to ensure that the products we offer have the best user experience possible."
The ENS team also stated that network congestion is the main challenge to staying on the main network, which affects user transactions. They believe that the .eth name should be easily accessible to users around the world, and that providing the best experience may be "difficult to achieve" in the current situation of the Ethereum mainnet.
