ENS Drops Namechain as Gas Fees Plummet: A Saga of Silence and Laughter

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Key Highlights

  • ENS Labs withdraws its independent Layer 2 project Namechain to carry ENSv2 directly upon the Ethereum mainnet, as if relinquishing a sidelong road to walk the broad avenue with a more dignified tread.
  • The 99% decline in Ethereum gas fees over the past year makes the burden of a separate rollup seem almost comical, a grave mistake dressed in the raiment of necessity.
  • In preserving Ethereum’s core security while favoring simplicity, the naming service seeks a more tranquil crossing of borders between chains, and perhaps a quiet dinner of fewer dishes on the plate.

On Friday, ENS Labs declared a change in their path: the forthcoming ENSv2 will be deployed solely on Ethereum Layer 1. In this pivot, the enterprise casts aside its own dedicated Layer 2, Namechain, as a man might set aside a costly coat when the weather grows temperate and the tailor’s bill grows longer than the road itself.

Reports attribute the pivot to a dramatic 99% fall in L1 gas costs over the year, a saving they attribute to the expansion of the network and to feats such as Fusaka. The reduction, they insist, renders the maintenance of Namechain a relic of a more extravagant era, like a sedan chair in a world that now walks upright and uses its own legs to cross the street.

ENSv2 will be deployed exclusively on Ethereum.

– ens.eth (@ensdomains) February 6, 2026

Security and decentralization

By discarding a separate rollup, ENS Labs seeks to grant users the security and decentralization of the mainnet, while avoiding the infrastructure quarrels and centralization temptations that attend a private Layer 2. The choice to cling to Layer 1 is told as a matter of prudence, yet one cannot help but smile at the arithmetic: the median ENS registration has fallen from about five dollars to under five cents, and thus the grand edifice of Namechain-once thought indispensable-appears less a fortress than a clever parlor trick.

According to the announcement, subsidizing every ENS transaction for a year would now be far cheaper than maintaining an independent Layer 2. By focusing on the Ethereum mainnet, the developers hope to offer a simpler resolution process, requiring but one chain for queries rather than two, and thus to reduce the symphony of disorder that sometimes accompanies divine ambitions.

Changing scaling outlook

The development team once believed that creating their own Layer 2 was unavoidable. Two years ago, transactions on the Ethereum mainnet were dear as a noble’s purse, and high L1 scalability was not the immediate horizon; in those days Namechain was the torchbearer, a beacon that promised low-cost transactions to the multitude. The project spent eighteen months imagining a registry and ownership models suited to this Layer 2 realm, with CCIP-Read gateways as the bridges across diverse layers.

Course correction

The sudden ascent of Ethereum’s gas limit-from 30 million to 60 million in 2025, with a hopeful target of 200 million in 2026-altered the map. In their own post, the team compared their journey to the Concorde, the prodigy that cut the sky in pieces, and declared that true leadership sometimes lies in the audacity to change course. If they were starting today, given their understanding of Ethereum’s scaling progress, the answer would be no to building a separate Layer 2.

Legacy of Namechain

The shift to an L1-only deployment for ENSv2 does not declare Namechain a failed venture, but rather a chapter from which future readers may learn. The lessons of Layer 2 architecture will influence ENSv2’s compatibility with other existing Layer 2 networks. Users may anticipate a smoother registration process that allows assets from any EVM-compatible chain without the clumsy business of bridging by hand. Public alphas for the new ENS App and ENS Explorer are available for testing, featuring a new registry design that grants each name its own registry, a modest miracle of flexibility.

Future infrastructure goals

ENSv2 remains tethered to the infrastructure of Ethereum Layer 1. The team prefers decentralization to the intricacies of a custom rollup, and while changing course carries social and reputational costs, they view remaining on the mainnet as providing a sturdy foundation. As Ethereum advances toward its ambitious 2026 gas-limit targets, ENS Labs promises to explore additional measures to offset gas costs for all Ethereum holders, ensuring the service remains accessible while its architecture evolves toward the next iteration.

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2026-02-07 00:36