Google integrates ENS domains into search engine

ENS domain names will directly display wallets and balances after the service was integrated with Google searches. Google engaged ENS Name Service through its Web3 team, making wallet exploration easier. 

ENS names are now searchable and will display wallet addresses and balances. ENS names, widely used by influencers and regular users, are a more intuitive approach to public addresses. Google added the search option through its dedicated Web3 team, signaling another path to mainstream adoption. ENS is the first service to cooperate with Google. The matter of privacy was raised, but ENS domain names have always been searchable with extra steps. 

Each ENS name will lead directly to the main wallet balance and the latest transactions. Prominent ENS names, often linked to social media brands, are tracked for copy-trading or wallet activities. 

➡️ You all asked for @ensdomains integration and it's live🫡 You can search for any .eth name and get the balance right in Google Search!

Kudos to the Search team for fully rolling this out! https://t.co/9R5QnsORC5

— nalin 🇺🇸 (@nalin) October 8, 2024

After the Ethereum integration, Jesse Pollak, creator of the Base chain, also reached out to Google’s team for a potential listing of its native name service. Other L2 and L1 chains have also proposed their native name services, including Avalanche, Solana, and others. Yet Ethereum remains the busiest chain with the most direct access to buying and trading the domain names. 

Search engine trends show that interest in ENS usage is lower compared to the hype of 2021. Yet ENS ownership is becoming more common, spreading across chains. Extensions like .bnb, .manta, and others also show that they belong to a crypto community. Domain names can also signal convictions or advertise projects or memes. ENS is also partnering with other Web3 projects to boost identity adoption and human-readable on-chain names.

Despite the positive news of wider adoption, ENS still traded around $16.70, near its one-month low. The token has gone through hype cycles and is one of the solid Ethereum projects, but is currently stagnant. ENS held hopes for a breakout, but for now broke down from its recent expansion trend. 

ENS names floor price reaches three-month high

Ethereum names and domains are one of the most successful use cases for NFT ownership. After the addition of a dedicated Google search box, ENS floor prices rose by 50%, from 0.0004 ETH to 0.0006 ETH. 

Recently listed business-themed or Web3-themed names range from 2.5 ETH to 50 ETH. The service may also gain more subscribers with the addition of meme names and themes. Recently, a wallet tagged as a ‘legendary NFT collector’ by Nansen bought the moodeng.eth name handle. The wallet already controls more than 450K diverse ETH names. Even small-scale owners can reserve high-profile ENS, such as popcat.eth. 

The high-profile domains can then be offered again on OpenSea. The auction for moodeng.eth has been opened, but the first bids are yet to come. ENS carries 1,912,116 active names, with some reserved for the year ahead, or as far ahead as 2027. The meme craze may benefit the ENS trade even more compared to the NFT market boom. 

ENS produces sustainable fees

ENS usage is a well-established staple of Web3. The project produces regular monthly fees, going as high as $1M monthly. Domain taxes make ENS sustainable, though the service faces cyclical fluctuations based on bull and bear market trends. 

Besides primary identities and personalized wallets, novelty or short ENS names also have an active market. Recently, 559.eth sold for 2 ETH, along with a batch of other novelty or meme addresses.

Registering a new ENS with more than five letters is at a baseline of $5 per year. A 4-letter ENS can be owned for $160 per year, and three-letter ENS go for $640. One of the main sources of revenue for the Ethereum Name Service are new domain registrations, with a smaller share of domain renewals. 

In total, the past 12 months saw 296,941 new domains registered. The ENS names cannot be burned or released before their expiration period ends. Even after the expiration, the owner has a 90-day grace period for renewal. After that, the name will be auctioned with a premium. If there is no buyer, the name will return to its regular price based on the letter count.