Namechain is an L2 developed by ENS Labs, to enhance the scalability and efficiency of managing decentralized identities on Ethereum. It is designed to work in tandem with ENS V2, which introduced a hierarchical registry system for more efficient subdomain management and custom resolvers. A key vision for Namechain is to unify multi-chain user identities, creating a "digital identity chain" that simplifies how users interact with the broader blockchain ecosystem. This is achieved through features like L2-to-L2 bridging, which allows users to initiate ENS-related activities from various Ethereum Layer 2 networks, not just Namechain itself.

Topics covered in this episode:

High level overview of ENS
Crosschain functionality through CCIP Read
Domain squatting
Onboarding ENS users via Paypal and Venmo
Google & GoDaddy integrations
ENS V2 upgrade & Namechain
Transferring tokens from Namechain to L1
Sequencer security assumptions
Scalability
New features & use cases
ENS roadmap & metrics
Ethereum ecosystem status

Episode links:

Sponsors:

Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.io
Chorus One: one of the largest node operators worldwide, trusted by 175,000+ accounts across more than 60 networks, Chorus One combines institutional-grade security with the highest yields at - chorus.one

This episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst.

ENS V2 Cross-Chain Domains & Namechain - Nick Johnson