Alex Van de Sande and Nick Johnson from the Ethereum Foundation launched Ethereum Name Service on May 4, 2017. A naming protocol that allows humans to use easy-to-remember names for their cryptocurrency addresses.

As DNS enabled a domain name to be linked to an IP address, becoming the phonebook of the Internet. Similarly, the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) is the phonebook of the Blockchain.

However, utility does not end there; ENS are in themselves NFTs, whose ownership is recorded on the Ethereum blockchain. This means you can also trade them on any marketplace – and as soon as next August, when the next upgrade protocol is scheduled to occur – holders will be able to lease, trade, or earn royalties on any subdomain created under their parent domain.

Furthermore, ENS names are already the standard across most crypto wallets, besides working with a decentralized architecture which can reference to decentralized, uncensorable websites and a potential universal login for all things Web3.

“The idea is to sell some, and leave most of them,” said 1289.eth, who is envisioning a four to five year future timeline for his ENS domain names.

The hype is not going unnoticed. Earlier this month, GoDaddy (the Internet Domain giant), has come out with guidance to their clients and offered to broker deals in strategic defensive registrations. On that blog post they went on to caution, blockchain domains are unregulated, and being decentralized in nature, lack the “traditional website resolution manner”.

These Web3 identities, like GOD.ETH, are gaining momentum. We’ve seen a drastic increase in the number of identifiers such as this being acquired and at times used.

The future of ENS looks bright as proponents predict in the upcoming years every individual and company will rush to setup their Web3 identity – especially with more traditional companies integrating crypto payments and diving into the metaverse.

1289.eth

How can people sell their ens domains in the aftermarket?

ENS domains are a great asset, there’s no doubt in that. But where can they be bought and how can domainers find buyers for their domains? There are several platforms that make it easy to trade domains in the aftermarket, like OpenSea or Cloudname. The latter is especially useful for traders, who appreciate a maxium of flexibility when trading domains: They can buy and sell both traditional and crypto domains using a variety of Crypto currencies or FIAT (like Euro and US Dollar).