Why did Vitalik openly endorse ENS?
Faced with the out-of-control Layer 2 territory, Vitalik will do everything possible to maintain the legitimacy of Ethereum's mainnet DA.Written by: Haotian
Many people think that @VitalikButerin's retweet of the ENS layer2 data parsing solution is a grand narrative for ENS, but that's not entirely the case. If you analyze the layer2 integration strategy provided by @ensdomains closely, you will understand Vitalik's intention: to further reduce Ethereum's control over layer2's DA. Why? Let me briefly analyze it:
The ENS domain service defines a set of interaction logic, allowing users to automatically connect to the corresponding long address of the ENS smart contract by simply entering a short domain name, addressing the pain point of complex and hard-to-remember EOA addresses.
It should be noted that ENS's domain service is more aimed at the future expansion market with a larger user base, especially among some mass adoption user groups.
Layer2 is the future for Ethereum to expand and attract large traffic. If the ENS domain resolution solution cannot cover layer2 and remains at the Ethereum mainnet level, it will be difficult to open up the imagination space.
Against this background, ENS will naturally consider providing a complete set of data parsing solutions for layer2, allowing users to directly perform domain resolution and data retrieval on layer2, reducing their dependence on the relatively centralized gateways of each layer2.
In short, this solution allows users to use ENS domain names in a decentralized and secure manner across various layer2s. How to achieve this?
1) ENS has designed a "layer bridge" with interoperability capabilities, enabling various layer2s to retrieve and effectively verify Ethereum mainnet domain data from off-chain environments. Through this bridging mechanism, the domain data resolution functions between various layer2s and the mainnet are connected, allowing ENS short domain names to be used securely on layer2.
2) The EIP3668 mentioned in the document will ensure that domain names used on layer2 chains can be correctly verified by mainnet smart contracts, preventing misuse of domain names; while EIP5599 relaxes the previous requirement that domain resolution must interact with the ENS smart contract, allowing resolution tasks to be delegated to external systems (Rollup contracts), greatly enhancing the parallel processing capability of domain resolution.
It is not difficult to see that for users to normally use ENS domain names on layer2, the prerequisite is to call and verify the global data on the Ethereum mainnet. This means that to enjoy this set of ENS services, one must adopt the orthodox Ethereum Data Availability capability, while those layer2s that take shortcuts based on OP Stack and place DA on third-party DA platforms like Celestia will not be compatible with ENS.
At this point, it is not hard to understand Vitalik's intention. I have analyzed in several articles that after the Cancun upgrade, layer2 will definitely usher in a big explosion, with various layer2s emerging like mushrooms after rain, and the modular thinking along with various Stack component services is breaking the original boundary of DA provided by the mainnet and expansion provided by layer2.
Faced with the uncontrollable territory of layer2, Vitalik will do everything possible to maintain the orthodoxy of Ethereum mainnet DA. Previously, his call for Plasma+ZK narratives was a defense of DA orthodoxy, and this time, the high-profile promotion of the ENS layer2 domain data solution serves a similar purpose.
Because only with DA data on the Ethereum mainnet can Ethereum Validators control the "security" lifeline of layer2 assets. If Validators lose their verification control, Ethereum becomes a "bulletin board" for layer2 results, and the reliance of layer2 chains on Ethereum will weaken. To a certain extent, it remains uncertain whether these layer2 platforms will still want to be Ethereum's layer2. Therefore, Vitalik will try every means to steer the development trajectory of layer2 towards the path of Ethereum orthodoxy.
Upon closer inspection, the political color of the crypto world has always been quite strong.
Of course, ENS is regarded by Vitalik as the most successful non-financial application on Ethereum. Moreover, ENS can indeed provide a friendly user experience for blockchain after mass adoption, aligning with the goal of layer2 to expand to a broader web3 audience.
In summary, using ENS to set a standard for interoperability for various layer2 platforms while consolidating DA control is a brilliant move!
