Messaging with ENS subdomains as identity for web3 service and support

Hey ENS frens…

I wanted to drop in and share something related to the use and support of ENS that we’ve been working on with XMTP: using them for secure web3 service and support. We participated in a community call a little while back to talk about this and we’re hoping to bring in more feedback, as well as invite the broader ENS community to try it out!

tl;dr on XMTP:

  • It’s a secure messaging network and protocol for web3 communication
    • Makes it easy to send end-to-end encrypted messages between blockchain accounts
    • Anyone that uses it can access their messages across any app that also uses XMTP, introducing the concept of an “interoperable inbox” (think like how your ETH transactions and assets follow you across web3)
    • Has support for ENS domains as the “to/from”
  • It powers the encrypted DM layer of the Lens Protocol ecosystem, available in Lenster, Orb, and many other Lens apps
  • Developers can easily build messaging and notifications into their web apps, Dapps, mobile apps, etc.
    • For one example, check out the recently launched Converse, and start messaging with your wallet today!
  • Docs and more are at https://xmtp.org

web3-native support + ENS

Now, recently we’ve been seeing increasing demand for web3-native support solutions stemming from the rampant phishing and scams that happen so easily in places like Discord. Companies and protocols operating in the space are looking for a way to provide support, but without creating more issues for their users, so it’s been a natural fit for XMTP.

Here’s a recent blog post we wrote about it:

ENS actually plays a pivotal role in achieving this, with subdomains front and center with how it works. We’ll use XMTP’s own ENS domain as an example.

  • xmtp.eth is controlled by a multisig so that changes require a higher standard of security
  • Subdomains can be added, mapped to accounts that use XMTP for messaging, an example being grants.xmtp.eth
  • Reverse name resolution is set on those accounts, so that anyone using XMTP can interact with those accounts where the naming and provenance is obvious and can be trusted (or at the very least independently verifiable)
  • We then socialize these addresses (or build experiences that use them) such as with our recent happy hour that we held at Consensus in Austin
    • People that wanted to come could message frens.xmtp.eth and register for the event (example here)

So with all of the above considered, brands, companies, protocols, products, etc. can leverage their ENS domains, and set up subdomains within them, that could in effect inherit the trust that we have for the primary domain, and then send secure messages with them. (It’s also worth noting that these same messages that users might send to one brand will exist in other apps that also use XMTP, so they’re portable).

What’s next and why we’re here

First things first, any feedback or questions you’ve got regarding what’s above, by all means drop it in here! Otherwise:

  1. We’d love to hear from and talk with any project that’s building with ENS subdomains in mind, or generally interested in communication
    • In particular we like what Org3 is doing to make it easier to have organizations adopt subdomains
  2. We want to support projects that are leaning in on the new name wrapper features, specifically around emancipated names and new types of identities in web3
    • This is especially interesting because this path helps new types of identities to scale by leveraging ENS as a systems
      • and with XMTP it’s useful because front-ends don’t need to build specialized resolvers for them (more on this later)
  3. Try it out with your org. Just follow the instructions in the blog post previously mentioned and give it a shot. Be sure to let us know what you’ve set up (details below) and we’ll be happy to promote your use of it.

Get in touch

  • One sure-fire way to get in touch with me is to just message my ENS name over XMTP (galligan.eth)
    • Highly recommend downloading Converse for iOS or Android to do this (galligan.eth)
    • You can also go to https://xmtp.chat and try it there. Just add galligan.eth to the “to” field
  • Alternatively you can reply or DM here, or find me on Twitter or Farcaster as @mg.

Thanks! I look forward to hearing from this community. We’re big fans of ENS at XMTP Labs.

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