Now your .com or .whatever address works with ENS.
ENS now supports regular domain names.
Last week, Ethereum Name Service (ENS) expanded its capabilities to work with any second level domain. This means owners of .com, .net, .money, et al. domains can now use their domains as a wallet address in ENS.
This makes a lot of sense. Domain names were created because it’s easier to remember words than IP addresses. Similarly, ENS makes it easier to remember long wallet addresses.
ENS launched by selling .eth addresses. So, you could use a domain like mycoolname.eth as your wallet address. Now, rather than expand to other pseudo-TLDs in addition to .eth, ENS will instead support domains registered on the main DNS. ENS’ creators say this has been in the roadmap since 2017.
ENS already worked with select domains such as .XYZ. The new functionality means that any second level domain will work.
Importing a domain involves enabling DNSSEC, adding a TXT record, and registering the name on ENS. This last step requires paying the Ethereum network gas fee. Fees are currently rather high, and the fee might be about $300. ENS says it’s working to reduce this fee, and it’s also possible that gas fees will fall in the future.
There are some differences between using .eth names and standard second level domains for your wallet, including the security of the namespace.