Katherine Ross

Ethereum Name Service’s lead developer Nick Johnson took to social media to call out Unstoppable Domains on Thursday.



Johnson penned a series of posts on X not only criticizing Unstoppable Domains for the lack of legal backing or binding behind its Web3 Domain Alliance group — which it both founded and runs — but also accused Unstoppable of patenting an innovation allegedly made by ENS.



Johnson claims that ENS and <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/unstoppable-domains">Unstoppable Domains</a> attempted to discuss the situation outside of the social media platform, but “failed” to make headway.



He claims that <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/ethereum-name-service">ENS</a>, in contrast to Unstoppable, “have not pursued patents on our work.”



The issue at hand can be traced back to January when Unstoppable was granted a patent — Resolving Blockchain Domains — based on “innovations that ENS developed and contains no novel innovations of its own,” according to Johnson.



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/what-is-the-ethereum-name-service-ens">What is Ethereum Name Service?</a>



“It’s impossible for any organization to rely on such a nonbinding pledge when it concerns core aspects of its business operations. We are thus requesting that Unstoppable Domains put legal weight behind its PR commitment, with an unconditional and irrevocable patent pledge,” Johnson continued.



If the two remain at odds on the issue, then ENS “stands ready to challenge this patent.”



<a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/nick-johnson">Johnson</a> also included screenshots of alleged communication between Unstoppable and ENS.



According to the <a href="https://twitter.com/nicksdjohnson/status/1725167190914011490">post</a>, Unstoppable responded to the initial ENS letter about patents to which Unstoppable said that the pledge proposed by ENS is not “necessary.”



Unstoppable did, however, agree to engage in a “constructive dialogue” but pushed for them to engage in it within the Web3 Domain Alliance instead of directly between the two disputing parties.



In response to Johnson’s open letter, Unstoppable founder Matthew Gould reiterated the open invite to join the Alliance, though Johnson said that the issue was that the patent was not being licensed openly.&nbsp;



“There are no forward guarantees that can be made that make sense given the changing landscape of the industry. IMO the only solution is to increase collaboration and discussion,” Gould responded.&nbsp;



“We will keep the door open,” Gould said in a final post.&nbsp;



Back in July, Unstoppable Domains said it was attempting to expand the Web3 community by integrating ENS domain names and not marking them up. 



The <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/unstoppable-domains-ens-integration">two have been competitors in the past,</a> and the move was not made as part of a collaboration between the two, as clarified to Blockworks this summer.



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ENS lead developer calls out Unstoppable Domain patents on social media

James Cirrone

After more than two years of inactivity, an Ethereum Name Service (ENS) whale has resurfaced to claim millions in ETH.



The account holder, which owns the famed &#8220;darkmarket.eth&#8221; ENS domain among others, recovered 39,712 ETH early on a recent Monday morning, worth approximately $74 million at time of publication.



These funds were initially locked as a bid when the domain was purchased through ENS, and they have been unclaimed for years. The account holder then transferred part of these reclaimed funds — 63,734 ETH, worth roughly $118 million at time of publication — to a different Ethereum address.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">After 2.7 years of dormancy, darkmarket.eth reclaimed 39,712 <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24ETH&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$ETH</a> ($74.17M) locked in the ENS auction just now. And transferred 63,734 <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24ETH&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$ETH</a>($119M) out to a new wallet.<a href="https://t.co/OtXYRpcOhn">https://t.co/OtXYRpcOhn</a>&mdash; Lookonchain (@lookonchain) <a href="https://twitter.com/lookonchain/status/1685935783612764160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 31, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



ENS founder Nick Johnson clarified in a <a href="https://twitter.com/nicksdjohnson/status/1361089513515229184">tweet</a> from February 2021 that the initial deposit of close to 40,000 ETH was made during the first two years of ENS&#8217; operation.



Johnson had tried appealing to the user, and he directed them to where they could reclaim the funds at that time. Now that the individual appears to have done just that, Johnson seized the opportunity to provide further guidance to other users on how they can retrieve their own locked-up ether.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Sorry, correction &#8211; <a href="https://t.co/AtJgcmFSS4">https://t.co/AtJgcmFSS4</a>!&mdash; nick.eth (@nicksdjohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/nicksdjohnson/status/1685963035498692609?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 31, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



When Blockworks asked Johnson what he made of this situation, he said he couldn’t offer much in the way of specifics on the whale.



“I&#8217;m as intrigued as you!” he responded via email. “I&#8217;ve never had direct contact with them, and I&#8217;m very curious as to what made them suddenly come back to life.”



According to a 2021 Protos <a href="https://protos.com/ethereum-name-service-ens-whale-deposits-crypto-darkmarket/">report</a>, darkmarket.eth sold in 2017 for 20,103 ETH, which was worth about $5 million at the time, or $37 million at current prices.



The whale&#8217;s reclaimed funds also included earnings from other domains they own. Among these is the second most expensive ENS domain to date — openmarket.eth — currently valued at over $18 million. Other notable domains associated with this whale include silkroad.eth, openexchange.eth, and payment.eth, according to Protos.



Updated July 31, 2023 at 2:47 pm ET: Added comment from ENS founder Nick Johnson.



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ENS whale resurfaces after almost 3 years to snag 40K ETH windfall

Unstoppable Domains, which integrated the sale of Ethereum Name Service domain names on its platform Monday, will not be marking up .eth names. The company said it will be selling them at cost, plus gas fees.&nbsp;



In fact, ENS founder Nick Johnson told Blockworks all sales of .eth names go directly to the ENS DAO.



Unstoppable is marketing the move by saying it’s expanding the Web3 community in “creating a one-stop shop for Web3 domains.” Users can now buy .eth, .nft, .crypto, .polygon and other domains all in one place.&nbsp;



When the company was asked if integrating .eth names on Unstoppable represents a consolidation, a spokesperson said no. She did admit that Unstoppable and the Ethereum Name Service have been competitors in the past.&nbsp;



“Ultimately we want to support the most important naming systems and blockchains in Web3, including .eth,” Unstoppable’s head of communications Nora Chan told Blockworks via email.



Chan also clarified that there isn’t any sort of active collaboration between ENS and Unstoppable.



“While ENS was informed of our plans, this isn’t a partnership,” Chan wrote. “We’re simply integrating .eth into Unstoppable Domains, expanding their functionalities, and enabling users to buy and, eventually, manage these domains to purchase via the platform.”



Johnson also confirmed that there wasn’t direct involvement from ENS with Unstoppable’s decision to integrate his organization’s native domain names. 



Johnson pointed out that as more .eth names are sold, it means more money for the ENS DAO, which ultimately “allows ENS to do more and be more.”



“ENS is a permissionless protocol, meaning anyone can integrate it directly without needing our involvement. We&#8217;re not surprised that Unstoppable Domains has elected this approach,” Johnson told Blockworks.



However, just because Unstoppable isn’t directly profiting off the sale of .eth names, it doesn’t mean the company is doing this entirely for free.&nbsp;



Unstoppable can make money off this integration through its auto renewal service. Just like a normal Web2 website, you have to renew your claim to your Web3 domain name every so often.&nbsp;



Unstoppable is charging $4 per renewal period for .eth user names, according to a <a href="https://unstoppabledomains.com/blog/categories/announcements/article/eth-on-unstoppable">statement</a>.&nbsp;



The company could also profit off individuals who decide to buy multiple domains, Chan told Blockworks. This means if someone bought an .eth, .nft and .crypto usernames in a bundle, Unstoppable would see cash flow.&nbsp;



Additionally, Unstoppable is offering customers a way to secure their domain names through a vault product. It’s managed by Unstoppable, but users retain full ownership of their domains, according to the company. Prices for a vault <a href="https://unstoppabledomains.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/48001235057-what-is-the-unstoppable-vault-#howto">range</a> from $4 a year for a domain worth less than $100, all the way up to $99 a year for unlimited domain storage.



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Unstoppable Domains chooses integration over competition with ENS

Shalini Nagarajan

Blockchain domain name provider Unstoppable Domains teamed up with Polygon Labs to launch the digital identity .polygon, giving users a new way to enter Web3 applications and the decentralized web.



Having the .polygon domain name allows users easier access to the many dapps, games and metaverses, built on the Polygon blockchain, according to a <a href="https://polygon.technology/blog/unstoppable-domains-and-polygon-labs-launch-polygon-web3-domains" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a> Tuesday.



People will have the option to create profiles and connect these with their social channels, and display on-chain tokens such as tickets and awards.



From March 16 onwards, Unstoppable Domains will launch exclusive access to premium .polygon gaming and digital domains, meaning users can claim names like gamer.polygon or 00.polygon.



“User-owned digital identity is the future of the Internet, and with the Polygon ecosystem, we’re putting the power of user-owned digital identities into more people’s hands,” said Sandy Carter, chief operating offer at Unstoppable Domains.



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/what-is-decentralized-identity">What Is Decentralized Identity? The Pillar of Web3</a>



Unstoppable Domains and <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/ethereum-name-service">Ethereum Name Service</a> (ENS) are the top two blockchain domain name providers. Web3 domains are essentially non-fungible tokens that can be traded, but they are more popular for being used as a shorthand name for crypto wallet addresses. These can be used to transact across a growing number of apps, wallets, exchanges and marketplaces.



Unstoppable recently partnered with Polygon on another initiative in Africa last week. To address the lack of female representation in the Web3 industry, both brands committed to onboarding six million African women to Web3 over the next five years.



They launched a diversity and education group called Women of Web3 to expand access to user-owned digital identity through free Unstoppable domains, which are available to claim until April 8.



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Unstoppable Domains and Polygon Launch New User-Owned Digital ID

Bessie Liu

Ethereum Name Service (ENS), a decentralized naming system for Ethereum addresses, is voting to execute the swap of 10,000 ETH into stablecoin USDC.



The ENS DAO, which oversees the ENS protocol and its treasury, currently holds an estimated $1.2 billion in funds, with $227 million in liquid assets, <a href="https://deepdao.io/organization/228c8be1-9d1e-440c-8afb-a40d6ee480f2/organization_data/finance" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a> to DeepDAO.&nbsp;



10,000 ETH, about $16 million, is equivalent to 25% of the total ether held in its treasury and register controller, the DAO <a href="https://docs.ens.domains/v/governance/governance-proposals/term-3/ep3.3-executable-sell-eth-to-usdc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said in a proposal</a>.&nbsp;



When the proposal was written, it was expected that the sale of its ETH holdings would generate more than $13 million USDC, which will cover ENS DAO’s operational expenses over the next 18 to 24 months. At current prices, $10,000 ETH is worth $15.8 million.



As DAO operations are often quite expensive — with a majority of its expenses funneled into salaries — it would be necessary for organizations to have a steady source of income.



If the proposal were to be approved, the trade would occur on CoW Swap, decentralized exchange aggregator that leverages Batch Auctions as its price-finding mechanism.



Since entering the bear market, ether prices have been fluctuating. At the time of writing, ether is trading around $1,600, down 44% over the past year. Exchanging a portion of ENS’ ether for a dollar-pegged asset like <a href="https://blockworks.co/price/usdc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">USDC</a> would go a long way if the bear market extends much further.



Token Terminal, a cryptocurrency data aggregator, <a href="https://tokenterminal.com/crypto-research/how-much-does-it-really-cost-to-run-a-dao">estimates</a> annual salaries for DAO members for MakerDAO, Lido, and SushiSwap cost $205,000, $132,000, and $256,000, respectively.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">6/ As a result, running a DAO can be quite expensive, with average annual salaries at MakerDAO, Lido, and SushiSwap landing at $205k, $132k, and $256k, respectively.&mdash; Token Terminal (@tokenterminal) <a href="https://twitter.com/tokenterminal/status/1620107323296608256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Ethereum Name Service DAO members worry about USDC</h2>



In the case of ENS, pseudonymous community member <a href="https://twitter.com/futurealisha" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">futurealisha</a> noted the majority of USDC expenses at the DAO come from ENS Labs, the Singapore-based non-profit powering ENS development.



“ENS Labs receives a daily stream of $11,500 USDC, which amounts to [around $4.2 million per year. Over two years, that is [roughly $8.4 million],” futurealisha <a href="https://discuss.ens.domains/u/alisha.eth" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wrote</a> in a discussion forum.&nbsp;



Another source of USDC spending would be working groups, “This budget would allow working groups to claim up to [about $1.5 million] in USDC per term between them. This amounts to [around $3 million per year and $6 million over two years],” she said.&nbsp;



Not all community members are thrilled about the swap. Another <a href="https://discuss.ens.domains/u/Ronald" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">user</a> <a href="https://discuss.ens.domains/t/ep3-3-executable-sell-eth-into-usdc/15906/16" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">posted</a> that USDC is a centralized token which could be blacklisted by the US government, echoing <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/makerdao-plans-to-yolo-usdc-into-eth">concerns raised by MakerDAO members last year</a>.



“The DAO will have little recourse to recover the funds in this instance as the ENS token will be considered an illegal security if things get to this point,” they said.



The on-chain proposal vote is currently live on <a href="https://www.tally.xyz/gov/ens/proposal/45461903078948131870051132081249892009497709518413744958551889217805827301425" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tally</a>, with 98% of voters currently in favor of the proposal. A quorum of 1 million has also passed — though voting will continue until Feb. 7.



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ENS DAO’s $16M ETH Sale Would Cover up to 2 Years Runway

Jack Kubinec

David Canellis

<div id="highlights-block_62d1b9e0ae9b0" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>The removal included non-trademarked domains flagged by the RIAA</li>
 <li>OpenSea continues to err on the side of caution following intellectual property claims</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



The same week OpenSea <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/opensea-lays-off-20-of-staff/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">laid off 20% of its workforce</a>, the top NFT marketplace removed several music-themed Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domain auctions after receiving a cease and desist letter from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).



The letter argued that a number of OpenSea-hosted ENS auctions were in violation of US trademark law, although not all of the domain names contain trademarked material.&nbsp;



OpenSea complied with the letter, continuing the centralized NFT (non-fungible token) exchange’s precedent of honoring copyright complaints.



ENS domains serve as unique website addresses, ending in “.eth.” Similar to how the internet’s Domain Name Service replaces IP addresses with strings of characters, ENS domains can be used to access websites hosted on decentralized storage solution IPFS.&nbsp;



They can also substitute complicated Ethereum blockchain addresses, allowing users to receive cryptocurrency via their domains. Registrations for ENS domains can be <a href="https://docs.ens.domains/dapp-developer-guide/ens-as-nft" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">transferred</a> by NFTs, which denote ownership and enable trading on marketplaces such as OpenSea.&nbsp;



In the RIAA’s letter, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/images/opensea-takedown.txt" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">posted online by TorrentFreak</a>, the trade association provides a list of .eth domains it believes violate the 1999 <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CRPT-106srpt140/html/CRPT-106srpt140.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Anti Cyber-Squatting Consumer Protection Act</a>. The law prevents the creation of web domains containing trademarks with “bad-faith intent to profit.”



ENS domains have been popular of late, with 000.eth <a href="https://twitter.com/Blockworks_/status/1544323581026439178" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">selling for $328,000 last week</a>.



The RIAA flagged “universalmusic.eth” and “atlanticrecords.eth” as breaking the law alongside dozens more. Both ENS domains are owned by the same <a href="https://etherscan.io/tokenholdings?a=0xd67d9e817aa9a1e4d00568e9445a9e6d0dd18c8b" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">address</a>, which paid $5 for each domain in 2020. They’ve also acquired a swath of domains tied to popular brands including Columbia Records, Sony Entertainment, Subpop and Capitol Records, among others.



The trade group also objected to domains titled for individual music industry executives like mitchglazier.eth and robstringer.eth, CEOs of the RIAA and Sony Music, respectively. Both domains are owned by the same blockchain <a href="https://etherscan.io/tokenholdings?a=0xa59fe57ddcb393dd3dcaa2ba2766e10d4f38e339" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">address</a>, which paid $5 and $15, respectively.



Neither name appears in the US Patent and Trademark Office <a href="https://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=login&amp;p_lang=english&amp;p_d=trmk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">database</a>, although the owner has also registered named ENS domains for celebrity figures such as WWE billionaire Vince McMahon, Pink Floyd superstar Syd Barrett and Columbia Records CEO Ron Perry.



Jeffrey Blockinger, general counsel at Web3 startup Quadrata, told Blockworks in an email that OpenSea’s initial reaction to the RIAA letter indicates Web3 companies are “becoming aware of traditional property rights and the value their protection can add to the development of NFTs as an asset class.”



“It is encouraging to see a company in an emerging industry implement takedown procedures that appear designed to protect [intellectual property] rights in a way that reflects responsible behaviors in more traditional asset classes,” Blockinger said.



OpenSea regularly errs on the side of caution with intellectual property complaints. The NFT marketplace <a href="https://snobette.com/2021/12/metabirkins-nft-removed-opensea-following-hermes-cease-and-desist/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">removed</a> a collection of Hermes handbag digital collectibles in December following opposition from the upscale fashion company.&nbsp;



Earlier this year, free expression activist Jillian York <a href="https://therecord.media/jillian-york-nft-stole-my-face/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">asked</a> OpenSea to remove an NFT of her face posted without her consent, and OpenSea complied.



NFTs are popular in the music industry, as <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/heres-how-nfts-could-disrupt-a-heavily-centralized-music-industry/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">streaming has made it difficult for artists to monetize their music</a>. Snoop Dogg, BTS and Steve Aoki each released NFT collections for fans this year.&nbsp;



Institutional players seem to be moving toward Web3, too. Yesterday, a Universal Music Group affiliate partnered with Moonpay to allow the Bored Ape collectors band KINGSHIP fans to mint NFTs.



OpenSea and the RIAA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.



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OpenSea Removes ENS Domain Auctions Following RIAA Complaints

Luke Conway

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What is the Ethereum Name Service?</h2>



Crypto addresses are long strings of numbers and letters designed to be read by computers. These long addresses have led to confusion and even loss of funds.&nbsp;



The Ethereum Name Service, or ENS, is a distributed technology based on the Ethereum blockchain that provides an elegant solution to long and confusing crypto addresses: one URL, just like a website name or email, that represents a crypto address.





ENS maps the long public address crypto users are familiar with and replaces it with a simple name that is easy to read and easy to remember. Something cumbersome like, “0xDC25EF3F5B8A186998338A2ADA83795FBA2D695E” becomes as simple as “Alice.eth.”



ENS takes the same concept of the Domain Name Service (DNS), which mapped simple website names to their IP addresses, to make crypto addresses easy to read and share.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Quick facts</h3>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>ENS is composed of two Ethereum smart contracts: the ENS registry, which records domain names, and the Resolver, which translates domain names to machine-readable addresses and vice-versa.</li><li>Like in the early days of DNS names, users are rushing to secure their ENS domains before they become unavailable.</li><li>ENS supports .com, .org, .io, .app and more.</li><li>Browsers currently supporting ENS include Brave, Opera, Status (mobile), MetaMask Mobile (mobile) and Puma. ENS will not work on a browser such as Chrome or Safari.</li></ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">ENS vs. DNS</h2>



The Domain Name System and the Ethereum Name Service are both protocols that dictate how certain operations, either on Web2 or Web3, are resolved. The DNS converts the IP address of the web server into a human-readable string called a URL.



The Ethereum Name Service converts an Ethereum address into a human-readable string formatted like a URL. In this way, they both function similarly to a phonebook. You can look up a name in a phone book and get the number that will allow you to reach that person.



The DNS is part of a system of internet protocols that allow Web2 to work seamlessly. Web3, a concept describing the new decentralized version of the internet, is still a developing field and has issues that hinder adoption, such as long addresses.



Right now, the primary purpose of ENS is to give people and applications an easy way to read and share crypto addresses and make Web3 more digestible. As Web3 matures, it is likely more protocols will be built around ENS.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How to get an ENS domain</h2>



Those who want to create a new ENS domain will need a crypto wallet, such as MetaMask, Torus or MEW, and some ether (ETH). From there, users can search for the domain of their choosing on <a href="https://app.ens.domains/">https://app.ens.domains/</a>.



The cost of a new ENS domain is at least $5, but users should expect to pay fees for the Ethereum transaction.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">ENS DAO&nbsp; </h2>



The ENS is operated by a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), essentially an organization with no centralized leadership. The DAO governs itself through the ENS token — holders of the token submit proposals and cast votes for future development.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What is the ENS governance token?&nbsp;</h2>



The ENS governance token is a token created on the Ethereum blockchain. They are traded by speculators, as are most crypto tokens, but the token also serves a specific role in the ENS community. ENS community members — as members of the DAO — use their tokens to communicate changes they wish to see in the organization.



For instance, later this year, the ENS community will <a href="https://docs.ens.domains/v/governance/ens-dao-constitution">vote</a> on the ENS Constitution — a set of rules and guidelines for how ENS should be governed. Each token can cast one vote. If 67% of votes cast on a particular article of the constitution are “yes” votes, then the article passes.



If a user wants to submit a proposal to the ENS community, they will need the support of 100,000 tokens for it to go to a vote.



Users can vote on many things in the DAO, including:



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Executable proposals for a series of smart contract operations, such as allocating a portion of the liquid token pool to fund a grant for Web3 development.</li><li>Social proposals, carried out off-chain, such as appointing or removing a director, member or supervisor.</li><li>Constitutional amendments, which alter how ENS conducts its mission.</li></ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">ENS token distribution&nbsp;</h2>



To <a href="https://ens.mirror.xyz/-eaqMv7XPikvXhvjbjzzPNLS4wzcQ8vdOgi9eNXeUuY">distribute</a> ENS tokens to the community, the developers allocated 25% of the ENS Token supply to users who had already signed up for an ENS domain by Oct. 31, 2021.



Token distribution:



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Community treasury: 50%</li><li>Airdrop to .eth holders: 25%&nbsp;</li><li>ENS contributors: 25%</li></ul>



The developers then airdropped these tokens to wallets connected to the ENS domains. Fractions of the ENS token pool were distributed based on how long a given user owned an ENS domain.



In practice, this means that many casual users received tens of thousands of dollars of tokens in the airdrop — while people who have held domains for many years received even more generous allocations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">ENS foundation</h2>



The ENS Foundation is a legal entity that represents the DAO. This way the foundation can provide legal support to DAO participants.



The foundation has three directors — Nick Johnson, Brantly Millegan and Kevin Gaspar — who are also ENS core team members.



The ENS Foundation is a foundation company limited by guarantee and is incorporated in the Cayman Islands. It is a nonprofit and cannot pay out dividends to its directors or members. The Foundation itself has one supervisor, filled by a Cayman Islands firm, DS Limited.



For more transparency, a list of documents related to the ENS Foundation can be found <a href="https://docs.ens.domains/v/governance/the-ens-foundation">here.</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Ethereum Name Service vs. Unstoppable Domains</h2>



ENS is not the only domain name service provider competing for supremacy on Web3. There are several competitors, including Unstoppable Domains. Both Unstoppable and ENS are built on top of Ethereum and both allow users to create and register a human-readable address for crypto addresses.



However, there are some big differences in the philosophy underlying these projects. ENS is an open and public protocol developed by a nonprofit that is heavily focused on decentralization and community decision making.



Unstoppable Domains operates as a for-profit company, and many of its domains have been “brand protected” to prevent individuals from owning certain names, words or phrases. This practice has led to complaints where people have been unable to buy a domain with their name, despite the fact it is not in use, such as JohnSmith.domain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How to buy ENS</h2>



ENS tokens can be purchased at the following exchanges:



Centralized



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Binance</li><li>Okex</li><li>FTX</li><li>ByBit</li></ul>



Decentralized



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Uniswap</li><li>SushiSwap</li><li>1Inch</li></ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Frequently asked questions</h2>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">What is the ethereum name service (ENS)?</h4>



Ethereum name service is a protocol that maps long crypto addresses to simple URLs. Instead of copying long crypto addresses, users can simply send crypto to domains such as “Alice.eth.”



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">How much does an ENS domain cost?</h4>



ENS domains cost as little as $5 before ethereum transactions fees.&nbsp;



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Where can you buy ENS tokens?</h4>



ENS tokens can be bought at a number of different exchanges such as Binance, FTX and more.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">How much are ENS tokens?</h4>


[stock_market_widget type=&#8221;accordion&#8221; template=&#8221;chart&#8221; color=&#8221;#5B35D5&#8243; assets=&#8221;ENS-USD&#8221; start_expanded=&#8221;true&#8221; display_currency_symbol=&#8221;true&#8221; api=&#8221;yf&#8221; chart_range=&#8221;1mo&#8221; chart_interval=&#8221;1d&#8221;]

What Is the Ethereum Name Service (ENS)?

Sebastian Sinclair

<div id="highlights-block_62006d613415f" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Delegates and members of the Ethereum Name Service foundation are weighing a draft proposal to terminate Millegan</li>
 <li>The development is dividing ENS&#8217; community, with some defending the director&#8217;s right to religious views, while others decry discrimination</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Controversy has erupted within the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) community after a more than 5-year-old tweet by the foundation&#8217;s director of operations, Brantly Millegan, resurfaced on Friday.



Delegate members from the Decentralized Autonomous Organization protocol are weighing up whether to terminate Millegan&#8217;s directorship for comments made in 2016 about his views regarding homosexuality, transgender people and abortions, among other topics.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="358" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/tweet-1024x358.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-16819" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/tweet-1024x358.jpg?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/tweet-1024x358.jpg?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/tweet-1024x358.jpg?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/tweet-1024x358.jpg?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/tweet-1024x358.jpg?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/tweet-1024x358.jpg?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/tweet-1024x358.jpg?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/tweet-1024x358.jpg?w=50 50w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/tweet-1024x358.jpg?w=1184 1184w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Brantly Millegan&#8217;s tweet from 2016</figcaption></figure>



A <a href="https://discuss.ens.domains/t/draft-proposal-dao-wide-proposal-to-terminate-directorship-of-brantly-millegan-at-the-ens-foundation/10277?u=viaeth" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">draft proposal</a> has been put forth to DAO delegates — those with voting rights making decisions affecting the protocol — to weigh in. The draft is not an active proposal, but a consideration for delegates to bring forward a vote on whether he should remain in a director role.



ENS is a domain name service designed to turn Ethereum machine-readable addresses into human-readable ones.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">not really anything to address? i adhere to the world&#39;s largest religion and apparently that&#39;s not allowed in web3?&mdash; brantly.eth (@BrantlyMillegan) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrantlyMillegan/status/1490181411004952576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



The controversy has called into question the nature of DAOs and the relationships they possess with voting delegates. Millegan is ENS&#8217; largest and most powerful delegate with <a href="https://www.withtally.com/governance/eip155:1:0x323A76393544d5ecca80cd6ef2A560C6a395b7E3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">377.68K votes</a>. Coinbase comes in at number two, only slightly behind Millegan with 333K of the DAO&#8217;s total voting share, after the director&#8217;s power gap narrowed following the resurfaced tweet.



Millegan has since been removed from his role as community steward following a &#8220;simple indicative majority vote&#8221; on Sunday, after the director defended his views in a Twitter Space discussion on Friday.



&#8220;After listening carefully to the concerns of the stewards, delegates, and many other community members, I believe it is in the best interest of ENS and the communality to remove Brantly from his role as a Community Steward,&#8221; said community steward member <a href="https://discuss.ens.domains/t/removing-brantly-eth-as-a-community-steward/10408/11" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kevin</a> &#8220;validator.eth&#8221; on Sunday.



While the 2016 <a href="https://twitter.com/brantlymillegan/status/731075016691994624?s=21" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweet</a> has since been removed for violating Twitter&#8217;s rules, a debate has opened up within social circles as to how the director&#8217;s views should be dealt with, if at all.



&#8220;You are accusing Brantly of misconduct but failed to produce evidence of such actions in this proposal. Right now, I see that the DAO has power to remov[e] him, but that’s all,&#8221; said one delegate going by the name &#8220;irreverent.&#8221;



&#8220;I would suggest clearly stating the relevant information (ie, the tweets, spaces, etc.) as well as any guidelines or specific clauses that he has violated. If the current proposal is submitted, I will vote NO because I see no clear misconduct being displayed&nbsp;given the current information within the draft&nbsp;and it feels like an angry mob vote.&#8221;



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">&#8220;This vibe is definitely something I do not want the DAO to give off.&#8221;</blockquote>



Those within the community defending Millegan&#8217;s right to free speech point to examples that the director has not acted upon his beliefs to de-platform minorities within the protocol. Others still call into question his public views and their effect on the protocol&#8217;s market health.



&#8220;He is bad for ENS because he creates segregation of users by his words and actions, said &#8220;Healing Visions,&#8221; another ENS delegate weighing in on the draft proposal. &#8220;Many have removed their .eth name, the price is down and will abandon the platform. If you can’t get behind it from a human perspective, which would be very sad, then from a business perspective it doesn’t make sense to keep him.&#8221;



The lead developer of ENS, Nick Johnson, announced Monday morning that Millegan would no longer be working with True Names Limited, the nonprofit company that funds ENS development.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">True Names Limited (TNL), the nonprofit that funds and organises development on <a href="https://twitter.com/ensdomains?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ensdomains</a>, has terminated the contract of Brantly Millegan effective today.&mdash; nick.eth (@nicksdjohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/nicksdjohnson/status/1490581937375027202?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Blockworks attempted to contact Millegan to discuss the draft proposal but did not receive a reply by press time.



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ENS Community Reconsiders Director’s Role

Macauley Peterson

<div id="highlights-block_618b14439d2aa" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>137,000 Ethereum wallets are eligible to claim the airdrop</li>
 <li>Initial DAO members are asked to vote on an ‘ENS Constitution’ and select delegates</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Ethereum Name Service, or ENS, calls itself “an open public utility that belongs to the community.” Today, that vision started coming into focus as the project is in the process of empowering a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), starting with the widespread distribution of its ENS governance token.



Unlike many crypto/Web3 projects, ENS has received no venture capital <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/?s=funding" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">funding</a>, and fully 25% of the new tokens are earmarked for its users. Anyone who registered an .eth domain name prior to October 31 qualified to claim a variable number of ENS tokens — the precise figure depends on when and for how many years the domain was registered.



Some 137,000 individual wallet addresses are able to claim a median average of 180 tokens, ENS’ Director of Operations Brantly Millegan told Blockworks via <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/discord-ceo-hints-at-crypto-wallet-integration-some-users-boycott/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Discord</a>. The price of this newly-trading asset is naturally volatile, but at time of publication that average amount is valued at around $11,000.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/w2L1tdxpP-dLf-ZgVfTHvqVbi6hsfO9cM0o3DAAfSQdpfnhuJS5RGuBFNOS8B2eBhXZzPU5lQyV8lDlNjSrAYXk6cD-UF_rzmgJnX0AN2KKbghXZgkWx9aDLcVNQ-aoHOJm0LZqR" alt=""/><figcaption>Source: <a href="https://ens.mirror.xyz/-eaqMv7XPikvXhvjbjzzPNLS4wzcQ8vdOgi9eNXeUuY" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ENS</a></figcaption></figure></div>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">What is an Ethereum name?</h3>



When you register a .com domain, you use a domain registrar, which updates the database of ICANN, the international organization that coordinates internet resources, such as top-level domains (TLDs). When you go to some address in your web browser, the domain name service (DNS) translates the name into an IP address that points to a server storing the website data.



ENS is partly the same: decentralized websites can be served from blockchain-based decentralized storage service <a href="https://ipfs.io/">IPFS</a> and accessed via an ENS name, with a browser that supports it. (As an aside, ICANN gives .eth TLD rights to the Ethiopian government, so we may see <a href="https://twitter.com/mikedemarais/status/1458317170677518339?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">some negotiations</a> there in the future!) But that’s not actually the main point, according to Millegan.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“The primary use case for an ENS name is that it&#8217;s your portable cross-platform web3 username and profile&#8230;set it up right, and you&#8217;ll see it in dApps across web3,&#8221; he said.</blockquote>



You’ve likely seen them on Twitter profiles — especially those of Ethereum’s proponents, like <a href="https://twitter.com/VitalikButerin" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Vitalik Buterin</a> (Vitalik.eth) — adopting an ENS name is en vogue.



As the owner of an .eth domain, you have an NFT on the Ethereum mainnet that is recognized by dApps, much as your Google or Facebook account is across Web2 apps today. With ENS, a name can stand in for a clunky wallet address, allowing owners to receive a variety of digital assets, such as BTC and ETH, directly via the domain name.



You can also opt to register existing domains — say, example.com — using <a href="https://medium.com/the-ethereum-name-service/step-by-step-guide-to-importing-a-dns-domain-name-to-ens-d2d15feb03e8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DNS within ENS</a>, to enable much of the same functionality.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Kick-starting governance</h3>



The point of a DAO governance token is to enable a community of people to own the underlying project that they themselves use. The first order of business for the ENS DAO is to vote on a <a href="https://discuss.ens.domains/t/proposed-ens-constitution/814" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Constitution</a>. This simple set of five Articles, which was drafted by ENS founder and lead developer Nick Johnson, outlines the basic principles that the founders hope the community will hew to. A supermajority vote of token holders over the coming days is required for passage.



“This is just the initial ENS Constitution,” explained Millegan. “There is an amendment provision, and we expect it to be changed and improved by the DAO going forward.”



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">you were not airdropped free money, you were airdropped responsibility&mdash; brantly.eth (@BrantlyMillegan) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrantlyMillegan/status/1458167522340052992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2021</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



The project is also accepting applications from potential delegates who will be empowered by the community to take on the responsibility of managing the ENS treasury and representing the interests of DAO members. Token holders can delegate their ENS stake to individual delegates whose judgment they value.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Coinbase wants a seat at the table</h3>



An interesting early development is that Coinbase Inc., as an organization, <a href="https://discuss.ens.domains/t/ens-dao-delegate-applications/815/722" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wants to be a delegate</a>. That has raised some eyebrows, as the idea of a large public company being a delegate of an important piece of Web3 infrastructure cuts against the grain of decentralization.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Bit alarming that the top delegate so far for <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24ENS&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$ENS</a> is Coinbase, a centralized company. Lots of great delegates out there, take a moment to review anyone other than a corporate megalith perhaps?&mdash; Adam Cochran (@adamscochran) <a href="https://twitter.com/adamscochran/status/1457903608134053895?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2021</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



ENS’ Millegan, however, welcomes the bid. “I think it&#8217;s great that Coinbase wants to get involved. ENS is the identity protocol of Web3, so we need a wide range of perspectives: average users, developers, companies, DAOs, etc. The key thing is Coinbase has no special insider advantage. They&#8217;re just like anyone else.”



Coinbase is currently in third place in <a href="https://www.withtally.com/governance/ens" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the delegate vote count</a>, right behind Millegan and <meta charset="utf-8">Johnson, so they will very likely become an influential delegate. The process is open-ended, and ENS token holders can choose to delegate to any delegate, or to self-delegate and vote on governance issues directly.



Whatever you think about the Coinbase candidacy, the fact that they have signaled strong support is being interpreted as bullish for the ENS token price, which currently trades predominantly <a href="https://info.uniswap.org/#/tokens/0xc18360217d8f7ab5e7c516566761ea12ce7f9d72" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">on Uniswap</a>.



The token, now <a href="https://etherscan.io/token/0xc18360217d8f7ab5e7c516566761ea12ce7f9d72" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">in 47,000 wallets</a> and growing, peaked so far on its second day of trading at just shy of $68 per token, and stands at $62 at time of publication.


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