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Ethereum Name Service (ENS) has launched ENSv2 on the Ethereum mainnet, introducing separate registries for subnames and an optional commemorative NFT for wallets that met the conditions of the June 1 network snapshot.
ENS Labs announced the launch on October 27 alongside updates to the ENS App and the ENS Explorer application, confirming that existing domain names will continue to work without re-registration.
In its launch announcement, ENS Labs said owners can migrate eligible .eth names to ENSv2 through the app whenever they wish to use the new capabilities. Keeping an existing name does not require re-registration.
This release followed founder Nick Johnson’s October 11 activation proposal requesting approval to launch the new system. At that time, the contracts had been deployed, but the updated registrar was not authorized to accept registrations.
The proposal was approved on October 27 after receiving support of approximately 1.69 million ENS tokens, while opponents backed it with only 24.94 million tokens, exceeding the required quorum of one million tokens.
“There is no deadline for migration,” Johnson wrote in the section of the proposal addressed to name owners.
According to the proposal, the activation stops new domain registrations through the old registrar and transfers its ownership to a contract that permits renewal. Domains that have not been migrated remain renewable through the designated ENSv1 renewal contract.
The activation plan proposed by Johnson separates the governance transaction from subsequent work by ENS Labs, including the final synchronization of ownership records, the opening of ENSv2 registration, and the transfer of remaining administrative roles.
The proposal obligates the team to publish transactions and use a script to verify that the deployment process retains no roles.
NFT Claims Come After Account Updates
In the collectible item announcement from ENS Labs, eligibility criteria are defined based on data as of June 1, 2026. One NFT is issued per eligible address, even if it had multiple names, and the card becomes visible after all eligible names are updated. Expired names and names that cannot be migrated do not prevent the card from being revealed.
Creating the commemorative NFT is optional and requires paying an Ethereum transaction fee. Owners can preview the image before receiving the token, and updating a name does not obligate them to create tokens.
Created by generative designer Simon Alexander-Adams, known as Polyhop, these cards use five traits linked to ENS history. Name length determines rarity level: three-character labels are classified as “Elemental,” four-character as “Rare,” five-character as “Uncommon,” and six characters or more as “Common.”
The snapshot determines the displayed name using the address’s primary name or its longest-used name if no primary name was set. ENS Labs states that a fixed seed value determines the remaining variations, so receiving the image earlier or refreshing the page does not change its cover or rarity.
Separate Registries Let Organizations Co-Manage Subnames
In its architecture description, ENS Labs explains how a name can provide its own registry for the names beneath it. A community issuing names to members can replace that registry in a single operation whenever it wants to reset its member namespace.
Multiple names can point to the same registry contract. In the team example, two organizations share records for managers, moderators, and participants, allowing the same underlying registry to provide those child names under separate parent names.
In this architecture, FUSE-based management in the Name Wrapper is replaced by roles. ENS Labs illustrates this scheme with the example of a company that assigns one administrator responsibility for all records, another for payment addresses, and a third for its avatar.
Expiration changes how subname availability is preserved. The architecture description states that an expired name stops resolving, and its entire subtree becomes unavailable. If someone subsequently registers the parent name, the new registration starts without the old subtree, rather than keeping previous subname records active.
The Permissioned Resolver documentation states a limitation on how delegated roles work. Permission to edit a single text key, such as an avatar, extends to every name served by that resolver instance. Restricting access to selected names requires serving them from their own resolver instance, the documentation explains.
The record-linking feature exists separately. According to the documentation, multiple names can share a complete set of records without duplicating values. Unlinking one name leaves the underlying record available for other names still using it, while linking applies to the entire set of records rather than only selected fields.
ENS Tools Complement Integration with Crypto Wallets and Payment Systems
The new ENS app combines registration with renewal tools, profile customization, and notifications. ENS Labs describes the registration process as a single action, and the Explorer lets users view owner information, name history, name resolution, and configuration.
In the discussion thread dedicated to the project launch, it was stated that MetaMask, Safe, 1inch, Aragon, Arbitrum, Jumper, and Lighter are among more than 40 teams ready for ENSv2.
US payment system integration arrived before the update. In September 2024, ENS Labs announced support for PayPal and Venmo, allowing US users to enter ENS names when sending cryptocurrency. These companies’ integration retrieves the corresponding wallet address and includes an address book for saved names.
Institutional use emerged in July 2024, when Bitwise published five ENS-tagged addresses for its US spot Ethereum ETF, ETHW. In its statement, the asset manager said these records allow anyone to verify assets and flows on the blockchain, and pledged to publish more addresses as the fund grows.
