Nick Johnson: ENS - Multichain ENS Domains and Decentralised Identities

This podcast episode features Nick Johnson, founder of the Ethereum Name Service (ENS), discussing the growth and vision of ENS as the most widely used decentralized naming service and the largest decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) on the Ethereum blockchain. The episode explores the importance of a unified naming system, the challenges of multiple decentralized naming services, and the need for more blockchain networks to integrate with ENS to establish a single, resolvable namespace. Additionally, the episode delves into the technical hurdles of making ENS compatible with Layer 2 solutions, the role of the ENS wrapper in facilitating trustless subdomain issuance, and the implications of the CCIP Read gateway for ENS. The conversation also touches on collaborations with traditional domain name registration entities, such as ICANN, the significance of DNSSEC and DNS integration within ENS, and the complexities of achieving on-chain privacy. The episode concludes by highlighting the future of ENS governance and addressing the challenges of effective delegation in decentralized systems. Takeaways • ENS is the most widely used decentralized naming service and the biggest DAO on Ethereum. • ENS aims to be the global namespace and advocates for a unified naming system to avoid potential risks and overhead of multiple competing services. • ENS faces challenges in expanding to Layer 2 solutions but utilizes CCIP Read functionality and the ENS wrapper to simplify compatibility. • The integration of ENS with traditional domain name registration entities like ICANN is being explored. • DNSSEC and DNS integration play important roles in ENS, ensuring security and enabling cryptographic signing of domain names. • On-chain privacy in Ethereum is a complex challenge, and ENS alone does not solve the privacy problem. • Account abstraction and delegating transactions offer usability benefits and enhance privacy in Ethereum. • The growth and governance of ENS are crucial aspects, with the ENS DAO facilitating ongoing revenue and participation and future governance models considering delegation and sub-DAOs for efficient decision-making.