So You Just Found Out About ENS?!

A year ago, the crypto-investing market was all about hype, with investors, focused on PFP/NFT projects like Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Cool Cats, Pudgy Penguins, Axie Infinity, and others.

Today, however, the focus has shifted to “more meaningful projects” that further the reach of and build upon the blockchain. One of the best pieces of evidence is the recent growth of the “Ethereum Name Service” (ENS).

ENS Domain names are growing in popularity because they represent a more “practical utility” for using blockchain technology and Web3. By investing and building in projects that have a clear purpose, investors are showing that they are more interested in the long-term future of the crypto industry. Many believe, ENS Domains are a critical part of any future Web3 company, product, or service.

Based on the current ENS statistics (found on https://dune.com/makoto/ens), ENS is still very much in its infancy.

• ENS has not reached 1 million users yet
• The ENS numbers will continue to increase
• In the future, every person/business+ will need an ENS Name
• Every NFT & smart contract can be identified with an ENS Name

The increasing numbers, the hype, and ENS in the media is having early adopters ask, so what should we do now?

Getting Started with ENS

It is always a good idea to do your own research on a project you want to invest in. There is an old mantra, “don’t trust; verify”.

Doing some research will help guide you in selecting ENS names you believe can be successful due to use cases/ utilities, or you can find a name that you want to own and build off by doing research you can find options on how to build off your ENS domain.

After you do your research, you have the conviction that ENS will prevail and will succeed long term. You want to start collecting names you feel can be valuable. Below are some tips to help guide you.

Get on Twitter

The vast majority of conversations happen on Twitter, and in Twitter (Voice) Spaces. This helps you to be in the loop of what is going on and can help you succeed.

I have seen many individuals reminding others of expiring names and you can potentially miss a good bid that is on a different platform; and you will miss that info if you are not on Twitter, as I have seen it happen in the past. You might also find great deals from people that hold ENS auctions and learn about ENS if you follow the right people.

Buy & Hold ENS Token

ENS Token is the Ethereum Name Service “governance token”, and is used to vote on official ENS DAO proposals, which can change the way ENS (.eth specifically) is operated.

To learn more about the $ENS token, I would recommend you read:

1. the ENS DAO Constitution,
2. the ENS Governance Process,
3. and, this thread by @CRVNE_eth

I see a lot of #ENS supporters on the TL debating @VitalikButerin's proposals, but do they hold any $ENS so they can participate in voting on them?

Do most people even know what that means?

Let's take a quick look at how the @ENS_DAO works and how you can be involved:
🧵👇

— CRVNE.eth (@CRVNE_eth) September 9, 2022

Observe the Market

I have personally been observing sales for a few months, and by just watching what names sold and for how much, I feel that I have an idea of a good deal when I see one.

If you feel ready to start investing in ENS names, then know that there are options and various ways to find names, I will go over 3 different ways to start collecting names.

1. Register an ENS Name

With over 2.7 million registrations chances are most good names are taken but not all, some niches may still be out there and, I personally believe that any name can be valuable if you build on it.

I also suggest researching names and trying to find one that will eventually have an end user, there have been many trends in ENS but only a few will succeed.

2. Buy an Expired ENS Name

There are ENS names that expire and go on a Dutch auction, decreasing exponentially until it reaches 0. There are various tools allowing you to find these expired names such as ens.vision and ens.tools.

It might be a bit more difficult to filter through all the “bad” names and find a good name but if you are consistently checking and have conviction it can be done!

3. Buy an ENS Name on the Secondary Market

There is also the option of buying words on secondary marketplaces, depending on what you are looking for it can often be an issue finding good words due to visibility.

A few ENS marketplaces have been working on ways to categorize words providing them with more visibility allowing user to find better deals.

1. ENS.Vision
2. OpenSea.io
3. LooksRare.org
4. X2Y2.io
5. PreDomain.eth.limo

ENS Club Categories

So, you want to start collecting ENS names but do not know where to start?

Here are a few categories that have remained popular for a few months and how you can get started on them:

Digits

The category has remained liquid and popular since they all registered in late April 2022.
Here are the hottest digit trends-

• Palindromes
• Digits beginning with 0
• Digits ending in 0
• Digits that are ascending and descending

Ethmojis

the most colorful unique ENS names.

• Single-base ethmojis are one of the rarest ENS categories.
• All single ethmojis are the ONLY ENS names that can be a single character.
• Clear rarity trains.
• This category is fun and allows you to express yourself in ways words cannot.

Foreign Languages

Web3 is universal and Ethereum is one of the leading crypto ecosystems, if ETH succeeds there is a chance that ENS names will be their leading naming service People from all around the world will need an ENS name.

The ENS homepage and manager app are available in 12 languages it is universal, and I predict this list will continue to grow. Here are the available languages:

• English
• Chinese
• Spanish
• German
• Japanese
• French
• Korean
• Polish
• Russian
• Vietnamese
• Italian
• Portuguese

English Words

Most of the portfolios I have seen of collectors that have been collecting ENS names for years have been collecting common English 1-word names, whether geographical locations or basic words such as hot, dog, blue, etc. These seem to be very sought after and valuable.

Finding a “good” common English word is a bit harder to find, there are too many words and not enough visibility of good deals.

Users are getting creative creating auctions and posting great deals on Twitter when they find one. Many platforms are working on ways to help categorize words in an efficient way along.

Scratching The Surface

These have just been my observations after spending months watching the ENS market. I personally believe that end users will pay more for the names they want instead of speculators.

This is just the beginning, you just found out about ENS, and you think you are late? Domainers are builders are creating real-world applications and brandable ideas.

In a few years, some people will look back to this article and realize how early we were–But some realize how early we still are, right now.