From chaotic addresses to readable names: how Web3 is revolutionizing blockchain domains

The Problem Nobody Wanted to Admit

Type this into your wallet: 0x483add48edbd9f83fb5db0289c7ed48c83f56992

Scared? Normal. That’s how adopting crypto looked years ago: nightmare hexadecimal addresses, one-character errors that could cost you all your money, and zero human-friendly ways to remember anything. It was as if the internet had never invented DNS.

Now imagine simply sending money to bob.eth. A name. A word. Revolutionary, right?

Enter ENS: The Service Ethereum Needed

Ethereum Name Service isn’t just another smart contract. It’s the missing layer to make blockchain usable.

Here’s how the mechanism works:

1. Registration: Stores all domains and their owners. A basic contract linking names with resolvers. It keeps three key data points: who owns it, who resolves the name, and the namehash—the digital fingerprint of the domain.

2. Registrar: Sets the rules. ENS started with Vickrey auctions—sealed bids. In 2019, it moved to a permanent model: $USD per year per .eth name. Later, English auctions for short names (3-6 characters) on OpenSea.

3. Resolver: Translates names into addresses. The final step: find the correct resolver and get the data you need.

Market Reality: Suppressed Demand

Millions of crypto users worldwide. Only hundreds of thousands of .eth domains registered.

That gap is an opportunity.

You can not only buy a .eth: you can rent it, sell it, use it as your personal brand in Web3, point it to smart contracts, add metadata—whatever you want. It’s an NFT with a real use case.

Step-by-Step: Register Your .eth in 2025

What you need:

• Wallet with ETH (MetaMask, Brave, TrustWallet, or any compatible wallet)
• app.ens.domains
• Patience for confirmations

The process:

1. Go to app.ens.domains. Search for the name you want (e.g., luna.eth).
2. If it’s available, choose how many years to register it—minimum 1 year.
3. Click “Request registration.” Confirm in your wallet.
4. Wait for it to process (green crossing the screen).
5. When you see “Click to register step 3,” complete the final transaction.
6. Done. Your name, your address, your identity on Ethereum.

Where We’re Headed

Web3 promised decentralization. ENS proves it works. An infrastructure that makes blockchain accessible without reverse engineering.

The question isn’t if ENS will grow. It’s when hexadecimal addresses will disappear from daily life—just like IP addresses.

That’s the future ENS is building.