Ethereum Name ServiceICANN report backs DNS and onchain name coexistence
A new ICANN report finds that the same name can function across the traditional internet and onchain without conflicting versions of control, with the right safeguards. ENS views this as a possible path for DNS and onchain names to work together, and notes it has applied for .ens in ICANN's 2026 round — the report doesn't approve individual applications but supports the concept of one name across both systems.
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- ENS applied for .ens in ICANN’s 2026 round. While the report doesn't approve individual applications, it offers a possible path for DNS and onchain names to work together. An important step toward one name across both systems. Learn more: https://t.co/wAxSsVVjdx Replying to their earlier post: ENS didn't arrive at this conversation yesterday. We've participated in ICANN meetings since 2024, from San Juan to Mumbai, filed public comments on name collision procedures, and briefed the ENS DAO…x.com ↗
- Can the same name work across the traditional internet and onchain without creating conflicting versions of who controls it? A new @ICANN report says yes, with the right safeguards. Here’s what it means for ENS (with excerpts). ↓x.com ↗
Ethereum Name Service
The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) is a distributed, open, and extensible naming system based on the Ethereum blockchain.
ENS’s job is to map human-readable names like ‘alice.eth’ to machine-readable identifiers such as Ethereum addresses, other cryptocurrency addresses, content hashes, and metadata. ENS also supports ‘reverse resolution’, making it possible to associate metadata such as canonical names or interface descriptions with Ethereum addresses.
ENS has similar goals to DNS, the Internet’s Domain Name Service, but has significantly different architecture due to the capabilities and constraints provided by the Ethereum blockchain. Like DNS, ENS operates on a system of dot-separated hierarchical names called domains, with the owner of a domain having full control over subdomains.
Top-level domains, like ‘.eth’ and ‘.test’, are owned by smart contracts called registrars, which specify rules governing the allocation of their subdomains. Anyone may, by following the rules imposed by these registrar contracts, obtain ownership of a domain for their own use. ENS also supports importing in DNS names already owned by the user for use on ENS.
