Ever heard of ENS domain? Or Ethereum Name Service?
Well, those active in the crypto space will be familiar with the hassles of using long wallet address. Basically, every time you want to make a crypto transaction, you have to use your wallet address—a long string of numbers and letters. These long addresses are not only confusing but have also resulted in losses due to errors and scams. This is where the ENS domains make things a bit simpler.
What is an ENS?
Ethereum Name Service (ENS) is a “distributed, open, and extensible naming system based on the Ethereum blockchain”. Put simply, it allows users to generate a simple and easy-to-remember name for all their wallet addresses and decentralized websites.
To illustrate, instead of a confusing address like “0xAB25FF3F5A8S18699855668A2ADA096545FBA2D695E”, you can simply use “Jane.eth”. Jane.eth will be your ENS domain where you can get all your tokens and NFTs. You can buy and manage your own ENS domains, making blockchain transactions much easier.
How Does ENS Work?
ENS operates similarly to Domain Name Service (DNS) on the Internet. A DNS transforms IP addresses, a string of numbers, into human-friendly domain names called a URL. Similarly, ENS converts machine-readable addresses to human-readable names.
To understand how ENS operates, you have to first understand what it is made of. Essentially, ENS includes two Ethereum smart contracts:
- The first, called ENS registry, records all the domain names. Each domain name consists of the owner’s details, the “caching time-to-live” of all the domain records, and the link to the resolver.
- Now, a resolver is the second smart contract responsible for translating names into addresses and vice versa. Essentially, the resolver matches each domain to its user, address, IPFS content hash, or website. As the domain name system uses the ERC-721 standard, you can sell the domain to others, just as with NFTs.
What can you do with ENS domains?
Basically, ENS domain helps users to change their long, illegible wallet addresses into easy-to-remember names. Think of this as saving someone’s number on your phone using their name. You don’t have to dial the number each time to call the person – you simply have to search for their name. In the same way, ENS’s makes blockchain transactions within the Ethereum ecosystem much simpler, with a lower chance of making errors.
Once you get your domain, you can link it to your public wallets, websites, smart contracts, or transactions. As an ENS domain owner, you can also get other subdomains to link to other data. For example, email.jane.eth or website.jane.eth.
How to buy ENS domain: A Step-by-Step Guide:
Due to their scarcity, crypto enthusiasts are hurriedly buying ENS domain. It is also common for people to flip their domains for hefty sums. For instance, exchange.eth fetched a whopping $609,000! So, if you are looking for ENS names for sale, you might want to hurry.
Below is a detailed step-by-step guide to buy ENS domain:
- To create your first ENS domain, you will need a crypto wallet and some ETH to cover the register fees (1 year registration + gas fees)
Step 1: Search for a Suitable .eth Name
- Open the ENS app
- Search for the .eth name that you like
- If the name is available, continue to the next step.
Step 2: Select The Registration Year
- Select the number of years you want to register the name (min 1 year). You can always extend your registration period in the future
- If you’d like, you can also set it as your wallets Primary name and then click Next to continue the registration process.
Step 3: Registering your ENS name
- Click Request to Register
- Check that the registration length and fees are satisfactory, then press Begin to start the registration process
- Click Open wallet to confirm the one transaction in your wallet.
- Wait for the transaction to be processed by the Ethereum blockchain.
- After that, wait for another 60 seconds to prevent others from registering that name.
- Once it’s done, click Finish to move to the next step
- Now, click the Register button and confirm the transaction in your wallet.
- If all process went through successfully, you should now be the owner of your own ENS name.
Keep in mind that creator will also have to pay a yearly fee of $5 per year for names with more than five characters. However, this does not include gas fee, which could vary from time to time.