ENS picks Linea to develop 'Namechain' Layer 2 network

Ethereum Name Service will use a software stack from Linea to develop its own Layer 2 network, which will be called Namechain.

ENS, which simplifies address resolutions on blockchains, chose Linea for its Type 2 zkEVM technology, it said in a blog post . It explained that the zkEVM technology provided by Linea will enable ENS’ Namechain to maintain compatibility with Ethereum’s existing smart contracts and tools.

ENS further stated that Linea was the first Layer 2 team to develop a trust-minimized version of ERC-3668 , facilitating decentralized cross-chain name resolution for subnames.

Linea is backed by the Ethereum research and development firm Consensys.

This development is part of an upgrade called “ENSv2,” the second version of ENS introduced earlier this year, which moves primary .eth domain activities to Layer 2 to enhance the service’s flexibility and affordability. With this upgrade, domain registrations and renewals will be managed on the Layer 2 Namechain, but name resolution will remain on Ethereum Layer 1.

ENS’s Layer 2 implementation is expected to handle increased transaction throughput, supporting higher volumes of registrations and renewals.