ENS Is Developing a ZK Layer 2

ENS Labs, the team behind Ethereum Name Service (ENS), is the latest prominent team in the Ethereum ecosystem to commence development on a Layer 2 network.

On Nov. 11, ENS Labs announced it is developing Namechain, an Ethereum L2 designed to scale blockchain-based identity solutions. ENS Labs described the network as providing a technological foundation enabling a “complete reimagining” of how the ENS protocol operates, with Namechain’s development forming a cornerstone of the protocol’s ENSv2 overhaul.

ENS Labs added that the network will reduce the fees associated with using the ENS protocol by up to 99%. Namechain was unveiled at ENS Labs’ frENSday event as part of the DevCon conference in Bangkok.

“By dramatically reducing costs, improving performance, and providing a familiar Ethereum developer experience our hope is to see new opportunities for ENS and Ethereum flourish,” said Katherine Wu, the COO of ENS Labs.

ENS allows users to create easily readable domain names with the suffix “.eth” that can be linked to alphanumeric wallet addresses, simplifying the user experience of interacting with Ethereum addresses. For example, the wallet controlled by Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s chief scientist, is linked to the “Vitalik.eth” ENS name, while his wallet address is 0xd8dA6BF26964aF9D7eEd9e03E53415D37aA96045.

Users have created more than 20 million names using ENS to date. In September, PayPal and Venmo rolled out support for ENS.

Namechain zkEVM

Namechain will comprise a zero-knowledge rollup, with ENS Labs targeting a mainnet deployment towards the end of 2025.

ENS Labs indicated it will outsource the technology facilitating zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM) execution, allowing the network to support smart contracts written for Ethereum.

ENS Labs noted that Namechain will facilitate name resolution updates in less than one hour, speeding up the responsiveness of decentralized applications supporting ENS names. The team added that Namechain will boast backward compatibility with existing ENS names created on the Ethereum mainnet.

In May, ENS Labs proposed migrating many of ENS’s core functionalities onto a Layer 2 network. “By utilizing L2s, we're excited to make ENS more accessible to a wider range of users,” ENS Labs said.

However, the announcement also comes as the broader Ethereum ecosystem faces criticism over the liquidity fragmentation associated with its rapidly proliferating Layer 2 sector. L2beat currently tracks data for more than 50 Ethereum rollups, while including Layer 3 chains brings the total to 117.

The price of the ENS token is down 2.1% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko.