The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) is sticking exclusively with Ethereum, launching its ENSv2 on the network; however, the transition means leaving its self-developed NameChain Layer 2.
The ENS, best known for giving human-readable names like vitalik.eth to blockchain addresses, had been developing Namechain — a custom Layer 2 network — as part of its ENSv2 rollout. The goal was to reduce transaction costs and boost scalability by processing name registrations and related activities off the main Ethereum chain.
The ENS team explained that Ethereum’s major gains in L1 scalability and lower registration fees have removed the need for a standalone L2; just in 2025, Ethereum’s gas limit increased from 30 million to 60 million.
Nonetheless, the team has assured users that pausing Namechain development won’t slow down ENSv2’s progress. It noted, “Users will still benefit from the improved user experience that ENSv2 brings, like single-step registration, purchases with stablecoins from any chain, and a new registry design.”
The decision comes as the base Ethereum network has scaled faster and more efficiently than earlier projections suggested.
The ENS says Ethereum will offer the best possible infrastructure guarantees
ENS said that when it first chose to build its own L2, Ethereum’s main network was simply too costly for most users, which often made simple ENS interactions surprisingly expensive. It further contended that at the time, Ethereum’s roadmap didn’t include major L1 upgrades, and the industry consensus was that L2s were the answer.
Now, the team notes that the shift to Ethereum will streamline name resolution, allowing users to get results faster by relying on a single chain. L1 scaling on Ethereum has already picked up serious momentum. Gas limits jumped to 60 million with the Fusaka upgrade, and core devs are already targeting 200 million next year, ahead of any ZK gains.
Originally, ENS intended for almost every name to resolve via CCIP-Read gateways at launch, with legacy and new names alike depending on it on the L2. But the team now believes that Ethereum L1 can offer unmatched security, decentralization, and reliability that L2s cannot fully replicate. It asserted that choosing L1 means they are sticking with the strongest infrastructure guarantees.
It added, however, that insights gained from Namechain will now inform ENS’s work on better interoperability with a range of L2s. It insisted that staying on L1 doesn’t mean they will ignore L2s. ENSv2’s flexible design enhances L2 interoperability, and the streamlined registration flow handles cross-chain complexity. Besides, ENS supports over 60 chains, including Bitcoin, Solana, and Celo.
At the same time, the team has already released public alpha versions of the ENS App and ENS Explorer to allow users to sample the simplified registration flow, upgraded multi-chain support, flexible ownership, and improved name management. The newly developed contracts and apps form the backbone of ENSv2.
Ethereum announced its funding to Shielded Labs
The Ethereum network is still expanding its involvement in building crypto infrastructure. Recently, the network’s founder, Vitalik Buterin, provided funding to Shielded Labs to support Crosslink, a proposed Zcash consensus improvement designed to layer on top of Zcash’s current proof-of-work protocol. Simply put, Crosslink adds a second layer of confirmations to speed up and secure transaction settlement, reducing the risk of chain reorganizations, rollbacks, or double-spends.
Ethereum’s latest support for development reflects a broader pivot in Buterin’s public messaging toward valuing privacy and resilience over convenience or growth. Lately, he’s stressed that blockchain design must prioritize handling worst-case scenarios rather than focusing solely on ideal user experience. That involves standing up to censorship, keeping trust assumptions to a minimum, and protecting users under adverse conditions. In his view, privacy should be treated as core infrastructure, not an add-on. In one of his recent posts on X, he had asserted, “2026 is the year that we take back lost ground in terms of self-sovereignty and trustlessness.”
