The Ethereum Name Service has scrapped its planned Layer 2 blockchain, Namechain, citing dramatically lower gas costs on Ethereum’s main network. Instead, ENS will deploy its ENSv2 upgrade directly on Layer 1.
In a Friday blog post, ENS lead developer nick.eth attributed the decision to a “99% reduction in ENS registration gas costs over the past year” alongside major upgrades to the Ethereum network itself. The shift represents a significant change in strategy for the domain name service provider, which originally announced Namechain in November 2024.
“Ethereum L1 is scaling, and it’s scaling faster than almost anyone predicted two years ago,” nick.eth wrote. The recent Fusaka upgrade, which went live in early December, raised Ethereum’s gas limit to 60 million (a 2x increase from early 2025).
Ethereum core developers are now targeting gas limits of 200 million in 2026, representing a 3x increase from current levels. These improvements arrive before any zero-knowledge proof upgrades are deployed, further accelerating the network’s scaling capabilities.
When ENS first announced Namechain last year, the project framed the Layer 2 as essential for reducing registration costs and improving user experience. However, the dramatic scaling improvements on Ethereum’s base layer have fundamentally altered that calculus.
“Huge L1 scalability was not part of the Ethereum roadmap, and the message was clear that L2s were the way forward,” nick.eth explained. “We needed to meet our users where the ecosystem was heading, and that meant building Namechain.”
The decision does not mean ENS is abandoning Layer 2 considerations entirely. The project’s engineering team has focused heavily on ENSv2’s core improvements, including a new registry architecture, improved ownership models, better name expiration handling, and increased flexibility through individual name registries.
“The flexibility of the ENSv2 architecture makes L2 names more interoperable,” nick.eth said. The new registration flow will abstract the complexity of cross-chain transactions, allowing ENS to remain compatible with Layer 2 solutions while operating primarily on Ethereum’s main network.
ENS’s decision reflects a broader shift in Ethereum’s scaling narrative. When Layer 2s emerged as the primary scaling solution, many projects designed roadmaps accordingly. But recent improvements to Ethereum’s throughput have prompted some builders to reconsider their L2-first strategies.
The Fusaka upgrade introduced PeerDAS (Peer Data Availability Sampling), a significant technical advancement that improved data availability for both Ethereum and its Layer 2 ecosystem. This innovation contributed substantially to the reduced gas fees across ENS operations.
ENS users currently benefit from these lower costs through existing domain registration and renewal processes. The transition to ENSv2 on Ethereum’s main network promises additional efficiency gains through improved protocol architecture.
The company joins a growing number of blockchain projects reassessing their scaling strategies in light of Ethereum’s rapid technical progress. This trend underscores how quickly cryptocurrency infrastructure can evolve, requiring projects to remain flexible in their deployment strategies.
ENS’s choice to remain on Layer 1 while improving interoperability with Layer 2 solutions represents a pragmatic approach to building on modern Ethereum infrastructure.
See also: What is Layer 2? A Comprehensive Educational Guide
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