What is the Ethereum Name Service?
The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) is a distributed, open, and extensible naming system based on the Ethereum blockchain.
ENS maps human-readable names like 'alice.eth' to machine-readable identifiers such as Ethereum addresses, other cryptocurrency addresses, content hashes, metadata, and more. ENS also supports 'reverse resolution', making it possible to associate metadata such as primary names or interface descriptions with Ethereum addresses.
Top-Level Domains (TLDs), like .eth and .test, are owned by smart contracts called registrars, which specify rules governing the allocation of their names.
Enabling seamless interoperability with the DNS (Domain Name System).
The ETH Registrar is the registrar for the .eth TLD, it allows for trustless decentralized names to be issued as tokens on the Ethereum Blockchain.
Registration is done through smart-contracts, and name ownership is secured by the Ethereum blockchain.
ENS has similar goals to DNS, the existing Internet's Domain Name Service, and aims to extend its capability.
ENS also supports importing DNS names through the use of DNSSEC.
Allowing you to take your .com, .xyz, or .art (and more) into the ENS ecosystem. Read more about DNSSEC names on this page.
Because of the hierarchal nature of ENS, anyone who owns a domain at any level can take control of resolution. Users can create subdomains manually, or take matters into their own hands and write their own resolution logic.
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For instance, if Alice owns 'alice.eth', she can create 'pay.alice.eth' and configure it as she wishes. Or, use a Custom Resolver, and programmatically issue subdomains, for example in an App, Community, or DAO.
You can try ENS out for yourself now by using the ENS Manager App, or by using any of the many ENS enabled applications on our homepage.
