What is ENS?

ENS stands for Ethereum Name Service, a system that maps readable names to crypto addresses. A supporting application resolves the name to find the relevant record. ENS does not create a wallet or move assets inside a name.

In ENS terminology, the name is the identifier being queried, a record is the information returned, and a resolver is the contract providing the mapping. Records can hold profile or content information as well as addresses.

Example

Imagine Alex has linked the hypothetical name alex-example.eth to an Ethereum address. Jordan enters it in an ENS-compatible wallet, which looks up the stored address. After checking the destination and network, Jordan sends 0.01 ETH. The funds go to the resolved address, not into the name. The example does not claim that the name exists or is available.

A contact name pointing to a phone number is a useful analogy, with limits: ENS records may be public, can change, and .eth registrations have expiry dates. An easy-to-remember name does not prove that its recipient is trustworthy.

Is a .eth name the same as the ENS token?

No. The official ENS explanation separates the governance token from .eth names. Holding the token does not automatically give someone a name. Wallet addresses, readable names and tokens serve different purposes.

Our ENS app review examines registration costs, expiry and role screens. It shows where the concepts in this definition appear in the actual interface.