Ethereum Name Service (ENS) has a new roadmap for the implementation of its version 2: all deployment will be done exclusively on Layer 1 (L1) of Ethereum.
“ENSv2 will be deployed exclusively on Ethereum”The developers of the protocol announced in a technical statement released this week that the decision entails the immediate cessation of development of Namechain, the internal Layer 2 (L2) network that the organization had been planning for the past two years.
According to the technical team, the change is due to a substantial modification in the main network infrastructure: gas costs for domain registration have been reduced by 99% over the past year. This measure, the statement added, does not affect the functionalities promised in the ENSv2 update —such as the new ledger design or stablecoin purchases— but it radically changes the underlying architecture that will support them, eliminating the need for a proprietary secondary chain.
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Previously, ENS's roadmap envisioned the creation of Namechain because the Ethereum mainnet was prohibitively expensive for the average user. However, market conditions changed drastically in 2025.
According to data presented by ENS, the upgrade known as Fusaka raised the gas network limit to 60 millionThis represents a 2x increase compared to the start of 2025. Ethereum's core developers now aim to reach 200 million in gas cap by 2026, which would be a 3x increase over current capacity, even before the implementation of future zero-knowledge upgrades (ZK upgrades).
The impact on the end user's wallet is tangible, according to figures reported by ENS: One year ago, the average gas cost to register a .eth domain name was around $5. Currently, after scalability adjustments, the same process It costs less than $0,05 (5 cents) on average.
By analyzing the cost structure on the Ethereum mainnet, the organization determined that maintaining its own L2 network was financially inefficient compared to operating on the mainnet.
The calculation presented by the protocol developers illustrates this disparity: If ENS were to subsidize 100% of transactions occurring in 2025 at current prices, the total expenditure would be approximately $10.000. Even in a high-congestion post-Fusaka scenario, that figure would rise to $250.000. This amount is substantially lower than the operating and maintenance costs required to run a standalone Layer 2 infrastructure like Namechain. These savings, according to the developers, will allow the organization to explore direct Layer 1 subsidies for .eth domain holders once ENSv2 is operational.
Access Bit2Me and buy ENSA strategic return to prioritize security and decentralization
ENS's decision marks a significant shift within the blockchain landscape, where most projects have opted for Layer 2 solutions to mitigate mainnet congestion. But instead of following that trend, and echoing Vitalik Buterin's recent comments on the scalability achieved in Layer 1, the ENS team chose to strengthen its infrastructure directly on Ethereum, prioritizing the security and decentralization of its base layer.
According to the organization, Namechain's initial approach envisioned a decentralized design, but in practice, each Layer 2 introduces new dependencies and potential points of failure that do not exist in the main network. These risks were related, among other things, to the ability to update contracts linked to the rollup and the centralized control of block production by a limited group of preliminary validators.
Under the previous plan, all domain names registered in ENS would have required the intermediation of CCIP gateways for resolution, creating dependencies on a bridging infrastructure. This model would have led millions of domains to rely on a slower and more complex reading process, limiting the system's efficiency. explained The team. However, the cancellation of Namechain at Layer 2 eliminates that vulnerability and returns the protocol's operation to a more predictable and resilient environment.
The improvements following this decision by the ENS team are:
- Greater security: By remaining on the mainnet, the protocol aligns with Ethereum's guarantees of liveness and decentralization, without intermediaries.
- Simplified user experience: The need for manual bridges is eliminated. Users will be able to register names in fewer steps using assets from any EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) compatible chain.
- Product stability: The architecture is simplified, which reduces failure modes and the operational burden for developers.
In other words, with this decision, ENS simplifies its architecture and improves the overall user experience, while at the same time the protocol becomes more stable, with fewer points of failure and a lower operational burden for developers.
Create your account and add ENS to your portfolioENS is betting everything on Ethereum L1
Despite the cancellation of Namechain, the organization confirmed that the work done over the past 18 months is not entirely lost.
User-oriented applications, such as the ENS App and ENS Explorer, are already in public alpha and include the design and property management improvements planned for v2.
Finally, although the investment in the development of Namechain was significant for 2 years, those responsible for the project concluded that continuing with the deployment of their own L2 in 2026, with the current scalability conditions of Ethereum, would be a strategic mistake. “If we started today, knowing what we know about Ethereum’s scaling progress, we wouldn’t build our own L2.”The report concluded, reaffirming that the priority is user utility and sovereignty over proprietary infrastructure.
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