The roll-out of the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domain registry may be THE most important facet of the Ethereum ecosystem going mainstream. Instead of a randomized 42-digit Ethereum address which looks something like:

0x3aae4da9a22d518996031791d3bd61f45def6ac7

You can have a human-readable address, something that looks like:

ETHWallets.eth

OR utilize the sub-domain of:

CrowdConscious.ETHWallets.eth.

This is a major step forward as the average human does not have the capacity to remember various 42-digit addresses, but we can most definitely remember a domain name and our username to that domain, right? “Okay, my wallet address is at ETHWallets.eth and I use the same username across platforms…CrowdConscious.ETHWallets.eth.” So much easier than copy+pasting all the time.

ENSListing.com Hits 3,000 Domain Names Registered for the Secondary Market

Now, to the fun stuff. I have been covering the ENS Domain phenomenon since about the beginning. ENSListing.com was the first functional exchange website I came across and to this day is still the most functional and used secondary exchange for ENS domain names.

ENSListing.com Booth at Namescon China (Source)

Having been in touch with Mano, the Founder and sole-developer of ENSListing.com, he is VERY humbled by the opportunity to make as much progress as the platform has made thus far. Which leads nicely into my next point…I am extremely proud to let YOU know that Mano of ENSListing.com is a Keynote Speaker at Namescon in China yesterday! Event info here.

2,977 ETH = Approx. $1,012,180; Max Bid = 181k ETH, $61,540,000(Source)

Well, they also just hit 3,000 domains registered to the exchange. This means, the 3,000 domain names registered to the website are already held by users who likely won them in the ENS Registrar auction which started in early May. You or I can go to ENSListing.com and purchase an Ethereum domain name to use as a wallet that we could not find listed at the ENS auction site because it was already purchased (picture below).

Since the domain name is taken, I can go on ENSListing.com to see if it might be listed on their secondary exchange. If so, I have the opportunity to purchase the domain name I didn’t have a chance to purchase originally. Why is this a great sign for the entire Ethereum Blockchain? Because the simple human-readable functionality allows for a more robust identification system for the network to utilize in various facets. The aforementioned example above is just one way ENS domains can be utilized — a 3rd party wallet provider.

1,700 ETH = Approx. $578k; Max bid = 111k ETH, $37,740,000 (Source)

Another example ENS domains can be used in are to separate tokens you might be holding for the long-term. For instance, I own the ENS Domain “TokenBase.eth.”

ENSListing.com Booth at Namescon China (Source)

I am thinking about using this as my categorized wallet, holding my ERC20 tokens for the long-term and sending them to THIS address so I don’t need to copy+paste a 42-digit Ethereum address every time I want to put some tokens in my piggy bank. Instead, I would use the ENS sub-domain feature and do something like this:

Blocklancer.TokenBase.eth OR LNC.TokenBase.eth

LNC.TokenBase.eth CoFoundit.TokenBase.eth OR CFI.TokenBase.eth

CFI.TokenBase.eth MobileGo.TokenBase.eth OR MGO.TokenBase.eth

MGO.TokenBase.eth Binance.TokenBase.eth OR BNB.TokenBase.eth

Now, I’m unsure if ENS has implemented the ability to use words less than 7-characters for sub-domains. For the original ENS domain auction, users cannot lock-in domain names under 7-characters. If we can use less than 7-characters on sub-domain portion of the ENS domain…it would be even easier to utilize for this categorizing function. That way my tokens are separated into different wallet addresses, but easier to categorize in my own head than four 42-digit addresses.

For those of you who are new, it’s completely normal for users with Ethereum wallets to have an Excel spreadsheet full of account info — usernames, passwords, account addresses, and emails. It’s not easy to keep this all in order, but ENS domains should help ease the Ethereum blockchain usability for the non-technical user.

Quick Look at CodeTract.io Website — Active During ENS Auction Period

CodeTract.io was the website used to collect real-time data during the launch of the ENS auction. It would update the highest maximum bids; highest locked-in amounts; and unique names that were currently being bid on. The ENS Registrar website had or has a Twitter bot attached to it so that each new bid created would cause the bot to Tweet that ENS domain name and that it has been bid on. Pretty cool considering this is an open source project.

To the left I have included a screenshot from the CodeTract.io website that shows the top bids and amounts paid for some ENS domain names. As you can see, there is some serious cash put up for these names. This is what some of us in the space consider the “DotCom Boom 2.0.” Why? Well, when was the last time you heard about domain names making any real news? Blockchain tech is making WAVES right now too. Large domain name purchases usually happen behind closed doors and are not always announced to the world. Not to mention, the traditional Domain Name industry is extremely shattered. Try doing some research on DNS Domain sale history…data is old and the websites we find the data on are not updated regularly. Perhaps not since last decade for most of them.

That said, the traditional Domain Name industry will be very interested in something like this as we have already seen ENS domainers like Mano Samy of ENSListing.com at Namescon China yesterday, one of the larger event players in the Domain Name industry. Looking forward to hearing how the Namescon China conference went for Mano! I will try to get the scoop and publish it here!

Below are some resources for beginning cryptocurrency enthusiasts or others interested in something new: