The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) has launched ENSv2 on the Ethereum mainnet, introducing a separate registry for subnames and offering an optional commemorative NFT for wallets eligible under the June 1 snapshot.
- Existing .eth names can still be used, and eligible holders can upgrade them via the ENS App.
- Each name can have its own registry and can be assigned independent permissions for managing subnames.
- NFT eligibility is based on a snapshot as of June 1, 2026, with one collectible redeemable per eligible wallet.
- According to the project's launch post, over 40 teams are already ready for ENSv2.
ENS Labs launched on October 27, introducing the redesigned ENS App and ENS Explorer, and confirmed that existing names can continue to be used without re-registration.
ENSv2 allows holders to upgrade without re-registering.
ENS Labs stated in its launch announcement that holders can migrate eligible .eth names to ENSv2 via the app when they wish to use the new features. There is no need to re-register to retain existing names.
This release follows the activation proposal put forward by founder Nick Johnson on October 11. Crypto.news previously reported that the proposal sought approval to enable the new system; although the relevant contracts had already been deployed, the upgraded registrar had not yet been authorized to accept registrations.
The proposal was enacted on October 27, receiving support from approximately 1.69 million ENS tokens, while opposition represented only 24.94 tokens, surpassing the quorum threshold of 1 million tokens.
Johnson wrote in the proposal to name holders: "There is no deadline for the migration."
According to the proposal, after activation, new registrations through the old registrar will be halted, and ownership will be transferred to a contract that allows renewals. Names that have not yet been migrated can still be renewed via the designated ENSv1 renewal contract.
Johnson's activation proposal separates governance transactions from ENS Labs' subsequent work, including final synchronization of ownership records, opening ENSv2 registrations, and transferring remaining management roles.
The proposal also commits to disclosing the relevant transactions and a script to verify that the deployer no longer retains any roles.
NFT claiming must be performed after all eligible names have been upgraded.
ENS Labs' collectibles announcement states that eligibility is determined by a snapshot as of June 1, 2026. Even if a qualifying address holds multiple names, only one NFT will be awarded; the card will only appear after all eligible names have been upgraded. Expired names and names that cannot be migrated will not prevent the card from appearing.
Minting an NFT is optional and requires payment of Ethereum transaction gas fees. Holders can preview the artwork image before claiming it, and completing the name upgrade does not require minting.
These cards were created by generative artist Simon Alexander-Adams, known by his alias Polyhop. Each card incorporates five features tied to ENS history. Rarity is determined by name length: three-character labels are Elemental, four-character are Rare, five-character are Uncommon, and six characters or more are Common.
The snapshot also determines the name displayed on the card: if the address has a primary name set, the primary name is shown; if not, the name held the longest is displayed. ENS Labs states that all other variations are determined by a fixed seed, so claiming earlier or refreshing the page will not change the artwork or rarity.
A separate registry allows organizations to jointly manage subnames.
In the architectural specification, ENS Labs describes how a name provides its own registry for its subnames. A community issuing member names can replace this registry in a single operation if it wishes to reset its namespace.
Multiple names can point to the same registry contract. As illustrated by the team, two organizations can share entries for administrators, moderators, and members, allowing the same underlying registry to provide these subnames under different parent names.
This architecture replaces the fuse-based control mechanism of the Name Wrapper with a role-based system. ENS Labs illustrates this design using a company example: all records can be managed by one administrator, payment addresses by another, and avatars by a third.
The expiration mechanism also changes how subnames are accessed. According to the architecture documentation, once a name expires, resolution stops, and its entire subtree becomes inaccessible. If someone later re-registers the parent name, the new registration will not inherit the previous subtree but will instead start from scratch, without retaining any prior subname records.
The Permissioned Resolver documentation outlines limitations of its delegation role mechanism. For example, permission to edit a specific text key (such as avatar) applies to every name served by that resolver instance. The documentation explains that to restrict access to specific names, those names must be served by separate, independent resolver instances.
The link record is another independent feature. According to the documentation, multiple names can share a complete set of records without duplicating the values. If you unlink one name, the underlying record remains available for other names still using it; moreover, this link applies to the entire set of records, not selected fields.
ENS tools are being advanced in sync with wallet and payment integrations.
The new ENS App integrates registration, renewal tools, profile customization, and notifications. ENS Labs says the registration process will feel like a single operation, while the Explorer allows users to view ownership, name history, resolution status, and configurations.
In the launch post, the project team mentioned that more than 40 teams, including MetaMask, Safe, 1inch, Aragon, Arbitrum, Jumper, and Lighter, are ready for ENSv2.
U.S. payment integration was available prior to this upgrade. In September 2024, ENS Labs announced support for PayPal and Venmo, allowing U.S. users to enter ENS names when sending cryptocurrency. The integrations with both companies retrieve the corresponding wallet addresses and include a contacts list to save the names.
The institutional use case emerged in July 2024, when Bitwise disclosed five addresses labeled with ENS for its U.S. spot Ethereum ETF, ETHW. The asset manager stated that these records enable anyone to verify holdings and fund movements on-chain, and pledged to publish additional addresses as the fund grows.