ENS Proposes Permanent .eth Domain Migration

Ethereum Name Service proposed ENSv2 on Oct. 11, giving .eth domain holders the choice to migrate permanently to a new system or remain on ENSv1. The proposal is awaiting approval from the ENS decentralized autonomous organization, or DAO.

If approved, ENSv2 would handle all new .eth registrations and replace the current registration infrastructure. Users who stay on ENSv1 could keep their domains indefinitely by continuing to renew them through a dedicated contract. Users who migrate would gain access to ENSv2 features but could not return their domains to ENSv1.

ENSv2 would replace the registry introduced in 2017 with a hierarchical system. Each domain could maintain a separate registry for its subdomains. Owners could give businesses, applications or other users control over specific names or records without transferring control of the main domain.

Migration would transfer an existing ENSv1 domain token to a smart contract called the Graveyard. The contract cannot return or transfer tokens it receives. Domains that remain on ENSv1 would keep their existing renewal terms and preserve their ENSv2 reservations.

Annual fees for domains with five or more characters would rise 60% to $8 from $5. Fees for three- and four-character domains would remain unchanged. Registrations lasting six years or more would receive discounts that reduce the annual cost by about 44%.

ENSv2 would accept stablecoins such as USDC and DAI for registration and renewal payments instead of ETH. The change would keep fees fixed in dollar terms.

The expiry rules for migrated domains would also change. Their 90-day grace period would fall to 28 days. ENS would extend registration expiry dates by 62 days to preserve the existing schedule for when names become available to other users. Domains that remain on ENSv1 would keep the 90-day grace period. Domains that expired more than 90 days before activation would not receive reservations in ENSv2.

ENS expects to suspend new registrations for several hours while developers synchronize existing records and activate the new system. The proposal contains conflicting provisions on whether current holders could renew domains during that period. Wallets and applications that use ENS would need to update their systems to resolve names through ENSv2.

The ENS DAO had not approved the activation as of Oct. 12, according to its governance bulletin. ENS had not announced a launch date. If approved, ENS Labs would complete the final synchronization, activate ENSv2 registration and resolution, and transfer its remaining administrative permissions to the DAO.