After many months of research, we are excited to present our tech stack selection partner for Namechain (part of ENSv2) following our original proposal on the ENS DAO forum. Over the past few months, we have hosted workshops (Unconference at EthCC) and have had many technical discussions with researchers, builders, and other technical teams who are all building at the forefront of scalability. We have also strived to provide updates on each step of our research with the broader community, both in our blog and also at frENSday at Devcon.
We are extremely happy to announce that ENS Labs, the organisation behind the open-source blockchain naming protocol, Ethereum Name Service (ENS), and the Linea Association, which powers the growth, development, and governance of Linea’s open-source technology and ecosystem, has entered into a joint engineering partnership to build Namechain.
As a reminder, we have a few main criteria that were incredibly important to us as we conducted diligence for the best technical partner for Namechain. Namely, these were: fast finality, open-source, and a clear roadmap for decentralization. All of these values ultimately led us to the conclusion that a zkEVM L2 partnership would be the best fit for the need of Namechain.
Why ENS and Linea Engineering Partnership Matters:
- Scalability and Cost Efficiency: Linea’s zkEVM technology enables ENS to scale effectively while significantly reducing the costs associated with registering, renewing, and updating names. This ensures that ENS remains accessible to a broader audience, fostering adoption and usability in the web3 ecosystem.
- Quick Finality and Low Latency: Linea’s zkEVM can ensure near-instant finality and low latency, which are critical for ENS’s read-heavy workflows. Updates made to ENS names will reflect rapidly, improving user trust and experience.
- Security: Linea leverages zkEVM cryptographic proofs to ensure the highest level of security.
- Alignment on Decentralization Roadmap: Linea’s roadmap to decentralization mirrors ENS’s commitment to decentralization and ensuring trustless operations, making it the ideal partner for Namechain and the evolution of ENS. The collaboration exemplifies the principles of decentralization, transparency, and innovation that are foundational to web3. ENS and Linea are co-building and co-funding efforts that are win-win on the decentralization front.
- Open-Source Innovation: ENS Labs’ adoption of the Linea Stack reinforces the commitment to open-source innovation, enabling the community to co-develop, enhance, and build on the infrastructure that powers Namechain and ENSv2. Both ENS and Linea prioritize community-led, open-source development, fostering collaboration across ecosystems.
- Cross-Team Collaboration: With the ENS team contributing to the open-source development of Linea’s technology and the Linea team building the stack for Namechain, this collaboration demonstrates that Web3 decentralization extends beyond technical and governance structures. It also encompasses team decentralization, fostering an open environment where external teams can co-build and innovate together.
- Interoperability with Ethereum Ecosystem: As a zkEVM rollup, Linea is fully EVM-compatible, ensuring seamless interoperability with the broader Ethereum ecosystem. This compatibility allows ENS to integrate seamlessly with other dApps, tools, and services. ENS and Linea want to build L2s that are extensions of Ethereum, culturally and technologically.
- Simplified User Experience: Linea’s technology minimizes the complexity of Layer 2 interactions, making the transition to ENSv2 and Namechain seamless for both technical and non-technical users. Broad adoption could revolutionize on-chain identity management by providing scalable, interoperable solutions. It could lead to mass adoption of ENS names across various platforms, enhancing the user experience and driving mainstream acceptance of blockchain technologies.
Next Steps
Today’s announcement is only the first step of an incredibly exciting year in store for ENS Labs as we look towards building and shipping Namechain. With Linea’s Engineering partnership, we believe we are on the right track to building out the next chapter of the ENS Protocol. As we head into 2025, we will continue to update the community with each step of the process, both for ENSV2 development, as well as our partnership with the Linea team. The Linea team will be updating their community in their forum for those who are interested in following along Linea’s technical updates.
We also welcome @ethereumjoseph, @daostrat.eth, @dfox and @nkeywal.eth who are all from the Linea team to the ENS DAO forum to answer any questions from the community. Please also lookout for a Twitter/X Space in early January between the two teams for a community-wide AMA session.
Thank you to our community for your support and excitement around Namechain. ENS has always been deeply committed to the open web and permissionless innovation. We believe that Linea has a rare combination of the technical talent and vision required to meet our technical goals, while sharing our belief in the importance of public goods and open protocols for the future of the Internet. We look forward to updating you all in the new year and let’s extend a warm welcome to Linea here!