ENS Seeks DAO Approval to Activate Upgraded Ethereum Naming System

New .eth registrations will be paused for hours during the transition, while existing domain holders can renew their names without migrating.

New .eth registrations are suspended for hours during the transition, while existing domain holders can renew their names without migration.

The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) is seeking approval from its Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) to enable an upgraded naming protocol on the Ethereum mainnet.

Nick Johnson, founder of ENS, submitted a draft workable proposal to enable ENSv2, the next version of the protocol. If approved, this upgrade will stop new registrations at the ENS primary registrar and allow existing domain holders to continue renewing their names.

This upgrade introduces a redesigned registry architecture with more flexible domain management and permissions. Upon activation, ENS Labs intends to transfer its remaining administrative control over the upgraded contracts to The DAO.

After the domain records are synchronized, the new .eth registrations are transferred to the upgraded system. Johnson cautioned that new registrations will be temporarily unavailable in both versions for several hours during the transition.

Existing domain owners do not need to migrate and their names will continue to operate as normal under this proposal. ENS Labs has also reserved existing .eth names for their existing owners in the upgraded system, allowing users to migrate when ready.

The activation proposal remains in the draft stage and must go to a DAO chain vote before implementation.

According to ENS governance rules, executive proposals require at least 1% voter turnout, representing 1 million ENS votes, and majority approval during a seven-day voting period. If approved, the upgrade will be subject to a time lock of at least two days prior to implementation. The voting date has not been announced yet.