🚀 Faster.​.​.​ Smoother.​.​.​ Better

**The Reverse Record Issue #5 is now available**, featuring coverage by @saniyamore on several key developments: - **ENS celebrates its 9th anniversary** - marking nearly a decade of decentralized naming on Ethereum - **ENSv2 progress update** - latest developments on the next major version of the protocol - **Architectural shift explained** - why ENS names are no longer treated as single objects and what this means for the ecosystem - **Ecosystem highlights** - notable updates from across the ENS community *Warning: Contains more Star Wars references than strictly necessary.* The newsletter provides insight into where ENS is headed as it evolves beyond its original architecture while maintaining its core mission of human-readable naming for Ethereum addresses and beyond. [Read the full issue](link)

**ENSv2 introduces a fundamental architectural shift** - replacing the single flat registry with a hierarchical system of linked registries. **What's changing:** - Each name now gets its own registry and permission structure - Ownership and delegation become explicit onchain - The relationship between names is physically represented, not just implied **What stays the same:** - Existing subnames continue working - CCIP-Read names remain functional - Imported DNS names keep operating **The practical impact:** Instead of everything living in one shared registry, you can now open the eth vault and find every .eth name inside it. Open a specific name, and you'll find its subnames nested within. This creates more powerful permissioning and delegation capabilities for subnames, while ENS infrastructure handles the complexity behind the scenes. Learn more: [ENS Blog](https://ens.domains/blog/post/names-are-no-longer-single-objects)

**Hermes** secured third place in the "Most Creative Use of ENS" category for building coordination infrastructure for AI agents. **How it works:** - Uses ENS names and subnames to route agent interactions - Resolves agent capabilities through the naming system - Creates persistent identity across different environments and workflows The project demonstrates how ENS can serve as infrastructure for agent-to-agent coordination, moving beyond simple name resolution to enable complex multi-agent systems. By leveraging ENS's hierarchical namespace, Hermes allows agents to discover and interact with each other in a decentralized way. This award follows other ENS-agent integrations including **ENSign** (first place) which turns ENS names into smart account wallets, and **Reckon402** (second place) which built reputation-aware commerce for agents.

**ETHGlobal Open Agents hackathon concluded with strong ENS adoption:** - **468 total projects** shipped over the weekend - **177 projects built on ENS** - representing nearly 38% of all hackathon submissions - **Six winning teams** across two ENS prize tracks The hackathon demonstrated significant developer interest in building with Ethereum Name Service, with more than one-third of participants choosing to integrate ENS into their projects. Winners were selected across two separate ENS-sponsored prize categories.

ENS has introduced `registerAgentIdentity()`, a new function that provides AI agents with on-chain identity infrastructure. When called, agents receive: - A human-readable ENS subname - An on-chain passport - Cryptographic proof linking the agent to its owner This builds on ENS's evolving role beyond simple name resolution. The system now supports: - **Arbitrary records** that carry an agent's full trust stack - **Identity scoring** (none, registered, discoverable, verified, full) - **Programmable resolvers** that execute logic like token swaps or privacy routing ENS serves as the accountability layer, transforming raw cryptographic keys into verifiable, human-readable identities. One ENS name can hold everything: identity, discoverability, code integrity, and capabilities. The infrastructure makes agents resolvable and accountable while maintaining the flexibility to chain complex actions through custom resolver logic.