Crypto glossary
ENS (Ethereum Name Service)
ENS, the Ethereum Name Service, is a naming system on Ethereum that maps readable names ending in .eth to wallet addresses, websites and other data.
Instead of sharing a long 0x address, a user can register a name such as alice.eth and point it to their wallet. ENS runs as a set of smart contracts: names are registered for a yearly fee paid in ETH, held as NFTs that can be transferred or sold, and resolved by wallets and apps that support the standard. Names can also hold addresses on other chains, profile details and links to decentralized websites.
Launched in 2017, ENS became the most widely supported blockchain naming service. Public figures, DAOs and companies use .eth names as on-chain identities, and the protocol is governed by the ENS DAO, whose token was airdropped to name holders in 2021.
A name only helps if it is renewed; expired names can be registered by anyone, including scammers. Look-alike names exist, so it is worth checking the resolved address, and a public name also links an identity to that wallet's full history.
Example
Instead of copying 0x8f3c…a41D, a friend types alice.eth in their wallet, which resolves it to that address before sending 0.05 ETH.
