TL;DR
The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) is a naming service for wallet addresses, hashes, and other machine-readable identifiers. It turns difficult to read strings of data into easily readable addresses. It works similarly to the Domain Name System (DNS) used for websites.
You can now easily purchase names without an auction and rent them by the year. Prices are dependent on the length of the name you want to rent. Also, if you owned an ENS domain on October 31, 2021, you're entitled to an airdrop of $ENS governance tokens. You have until May 04, 2022, to collect them.
Introduction
One of blockchain's biggest challenges is improving its ease of use and accessibility. If we look at payments using Ethereum (ETH) or Bitcoin (BTC), new and even experienced users can find long wallet addresses impractical and confusing. Hexadecimal strings of numbers are simple for a computer to read but less intuitive for human users. The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) combats the problem by allowing anyone to create simple website-style addresses that are easier to remember and use.
What is the Ethereum Name Service?
How does Ethereum Name Service work?
What can you do with ENS?
If you've ever got confused with multiple addresses when sending cryptocurrencies, you'll understand the need for ENS. Like you would save a friend's phone number under their name, ENS lets users turn long numbers into easy-to-remember words. This creates a more straightforward experience with less chance for errors.
An ENS domain owner can also create subdomains that they can then assign other data to. It doesn't always have to be a wallet address, either. You could use it to direct to a smart contract, transaction, or metadata.
How to get your own ENS domain?
Once you click on the name, you'll see instructions on registering the ENS domain. You can choose your registration period and also see an estimate of the fees. With ether (ETH) in your wallet, you can follow the three steps shown and request to register the address.
In ENS's early days, popular six, five, four, and three-letter names were auctioned off in Vickrey-style auctions. A smart contract ran the whole process over five days. Anyone could participate in a public auction and attempt to purchase the same domain name. Each interested party would send a transaction containing their maximum bid in the open auction's first three days.
The auction would then enter the reveal phase. Everyone would reveal their bid or lose their locked-up ETH, and the winning bidder would pay an amount equal to the second-largest bid. All revealed bids would then receive a refund.
How much does it cost to get an ENS domain?
How to claim Ethereum Name Service airdrop?
Anyone with a .eth address during a snapshot on October 31, 2021, is eligible to receive $ENS tokens. You can claim them in a few simple steps. You have until May 04, 2022, to claim your tokens before they are burned.
2. Choose the wallet you want to connect with, such as MetaMask, WalletConnect or another provider.
3. Click [Get started] to continue.
4. You'll now see the option to [Start your claim process] along with the amount that you're eligible to receive.
5. Make sure to read the educational information regarding $ENS, followed by the Constitution, which you will need to sign using your wallet.
6. Now, you can choose to delegate your tokens' voting power to yourself or another user.
7. Finally, check the amount you are claiming and your delegate before clicking [Claim] and paying a gas fee to unlock your tokens.
Closing thoughts
In the world of decentralized networks, ENS is a step forward to creating easily accessible ways of interacting with a blockchain. Just like we no longer use IP addresses to navigate the web, we may see an increase in ENS names due to its usefulness and increasing popularity. Since its airdrop, there has also been a rise in interest from the cryptocurrency ecosystem in the project.