Searching for Ethereum (ENS) domain names on Google now returns results for holdings of such addresses on the blockchain.
Google, the most used search engine in the world, has integrated address lookup from Ethereum Name Services or ENS, the decentralized domain name service based on the Ethereum blockchain.
Brantly Millegan, a former developer and member of the ENS DAO, was the first to report from his X account that the Google search engine now allows users to search for ENS domains directly, returning results for ETH holdings that are associated with such decentralized domain names.
The official ENS account on the social platform has confirmed the integration of Ethereum decentralized name searches into the web search engine.
In the case of Millegan's ENS address, a Google search for brantly.eth yields information about this address's ETH holdings, which according to muestra Millegan in a screenshot, is about 0,425 ETH (about $1.460 at the time of writing).
Millegan stressed that the ENS decentralized address or name lookup appears to have only been partially implemented, so for some users it may only work via a private tab.
Google support for ENS
The ENS decentralized domain name protocol is designed to revolutionize the way you interact with the Ethereum blockchain. This protocol replaces ETH hexadecimal addresses with human readable names, which are easy to use and simplify the usability and management of their cryptocurrency wallets for users.
Therefore, the search support for these decentralized names on Google represents a historic moment for the crypto industry, which exposes the growing recognition and importance that cryptoassets are gaining in the world, as an essential part of the new digital economy.
According to the decentralized protocol's developers, adding ENS domains to Google's search engine underlines the company's commitment to improving accessibility to cryptocurrencies. In addition to this, in the future, it could be possible for people to access a website by typing only the ENS domain into Google, Sean Murray, founder of Debanked, told Blockworks.
On the other hand, in addition to ENS domains, people can also use the Google search engine to search for a particular cryptocurrency address of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polygon, among others.
As part of its commitment to the growth of the crypto industry, Google has also become a validator of several blockchains and recently updated its advertising policy to allow ads related to Bitcoin spot ETFs on its platform.
Privacy concerns on blockchain
The search support for ENS names on Google’s web engine is something that many in the crypto community are celebrating. Software engineer Nathaniel Bunch commented that it was great to see ENS addresses gaining more traction on Web2. Likewise, X user @asymrisk1 commented that searching for the Ethereum hexadecimal address, rather than the ENS decentralized domain name, returned results for Layer2 chains.
However, not everyone agrees with the integration of ENS data into Google, perceiving this integration as a risk to the privacy provided by blockchain technology.
While searching for cryptocurrency addresses, including Ethereum ones, has been present on Google for some time, the integration of support for searching for an ENS domain makes some think that the protocol developers are not taking the issue seriously. financial privacy of the people who use the chain and who are publicly revealing more information than users would like. However, it is worth remembering that the nature of decentralized blockchains such as Ethereum allows each user to verify the information that is stored on the chain, in a transparent and immutable way.
Because of this, the integration of support for ENS search on Google is perceived by the crypto community at large as a significant step towards the wider use and adoption of blockchain technology, which simplifies the use of such decentralized addresses and domains and, with it, accessibility to the crypto world. Furthermore, this integration is seen as crucial to bridging the gap between Web2 and Web3 and to increasing trust in the blockchain industry.
Continue reading: Is the SEC investigating the Ethereum Foundation?
