ENS domains have taken the top spot as the number one collection on the NFT marketplace OpenSea. Driven by a 170% jump in sales over the past 24 hours, the Ethereum Name Service flipped the Bored Ape Yacht Club in seven-day volume.
In the past week, ENS trading volume surpassed 2,305 ETH or $3.76 million, representing a 43% week-over-week increase. The Bored Ape Yacht Club saw a parallel 43% drop to 2,126 ETH.
That dopamine from registering an ENS Domain >
— rich (140u.eth) (@NoKapRich) September 5, 2022
Nearly 9,000 ENS domains changed hands in the last seven days, compared to 16 BAYC NFTs. But the ENS floor price—the lowest price for an item in a collection—is less than $16, or less than 0.01 ETH, whereas the lowest price of a BAYC NFT is 76 ETH or about $124,000.
NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are cryptographically unique tokens linked to digital and physical content, showing proof of ownership.
Ethereum Name Creation Doubles In Four Months to 2 Million
As the crypto world gears up for the Ethereum Merge next month, the number of Ethereum Name Service (ENS) addresses created has surged, surpassing 2 million yesterday, after crossing the 1.8 million mark two weeks ago. "2m ENS names created!" tweeted the ENS Domains account. "It took 5 years to get to 1m names, then 3.5 months to get to 2m names, and we're just getting started." 2m ENS names created!! 🎉 it took 5 years to get to 1m namesthen 3.5 months to get to 2m names and we're just getting...
ENS domains can be linked to a cryptocurrency wallet, meaning that instead of providing a sender with a typical Ethereum address—a long string of characters—users can specify their .eth domain name to receive a transaction. ENS domains can also be sold as NFTs.
According to OpenSea, there are over 508,000 owners of ENS NFTs with a total trading volume of 56.3k ETH, representing around $86.2 million.
Last month, ENS reported its third highest month of revenue, with 2.17 million domain names created on the service, accounting for 99% of the domain name sales volume on OpenSea.
Ethereum Name Service Backlash Puts Spotlight on Anonymity in Web3
Despite the promise that Web3 will tear down the old guard with blockchain and decentralized tech, some old problems from Web2 have dogged the crypto and NFT space. Old tweets are resurfacing. Reputations and brands are being called into question. And, as happened on the centralized social networks of Web2, women, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), and LGBTQ+ people are being harassed by anonymous individuals—even on the blockchain itself. While harassment is not a problem unique t...
"With the upcoming merge and recent market downturn, gas prices on Ethereum have dropped, making it more affordable to register an ENS," Khori Whittaker, ENS executive director, told Decrypt.
Whittaker believes that with more attention drawn to Ethereum because of the merge, it's likely that users are gearing up for a post-merge world. "[Users] registering their personal ENS is a staple for every Web3 user heading into this new chapter of Ethereum's life," he said.
Scheduled for September 15, the merge will switch the Ethereum blockchain from a proof-of-work to a proof of stake consensus algorithm, a move expected to lower the energy consumption of the top blockchain for dapps, DAOs, and NFTs by 99.95%, according to the Ethereum Foundation.
"ENS is the only place where users can register a .eth domain," Whittaker said. "Since our launch we've steadily grown in tandem with Ethereum."
