On December 14, Ethereum Name Service (ENS) project founder Nick Johnson announced a major milestone in the history of the Ethereum blockchain naming system. ENS has now achieved decentralized governance, marking the end of an era in which the project’s root node was managed by members of the Ethereum community.
Passing the baton: A crucial decision for decentralization
Until now, the root node of the ENS project has been managed by members of the Ethereum community. However, according to Johnson, it’s time for a change. In a message addressed to the holders of the ENS root key, he expressed his support for this change of ownership. He said on X: “This really is the end of an era. Here is the message I have just sent to the ENS root key holders, requesting the transfer of their remaining powers to the DAO.”
Johnson’s attached message states that the ENS DAO, an autonomous, decentralized organization composed and controlled by ENS token holders, voted unanimously to take control of the project’s root node. Johnson then executed a transaction to transfer control to the DAO’s address (wallet.ensdao.eth), thereby removing all remaining responsibilities from the multisig and “retiring it entirely”. It remains to be seen whether the other multisig owners have approved the transaction.
A shift towards more open governance
The ENS DAO, an assembly of token holders, now becomes the central governance group that votes on project-related decisions by wagering tokens. Prior to this decision, the DAO already had several ownership responsibilities, but did not control ENS’s central root name.
The change of ownership gives the DAO certain specific capabilities related to the control of the ENS root node. This will enable the DAO to create, manage and permanently lock top-level domains outside the permanent, immutable eth domain. It will also allow the DAO to update reverse resolutions that associate addresses with a name. The DAO will also be able to introduce top-level domain names on Layer 2 networks.
A snapshot shows that voting ended on December 15, 2023. Virtually 100% of the tokens wagered, or ENS 1.9 million, were in favor of DAO ownership. Johnson himself was one of the biggest voters, betting 155,000 ENS in favor. Less than 17 ENS tokens were wagered against the plan or used to abstain.
A new era for ENS
In conclusion, the transfer of control of the ENS root node to the DAO marks a major shift towards more open and decentralized governance. Token holders will now have an active role in ENS-related decisions, shaping the future of this key Ethereum blockchain project.
